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Arkansas Football: Breaking down Razorbacks’ 2019 QB battle

By Steven Hamner

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - OCTOBER 27: Head Coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks yells to the officials in the first half of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Razorback Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Commodores defeated the Razorbacks 45-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - OCTOBER 27: Head Coach Chad Morris of the Arkansas Razorbacks yells to the officials in the first half of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Razorback Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Commodores defeated the Razorbacks 45-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Nick Starkel has SEC experience

The transfer from Texas A&M may have only seen time as a backup in 2018, but the year prior Nick Starkel won the starting job for the Aggies before getting injured. Starkel came back from injury and started the majority of the games at the end of the 2017 season.

Starkel’s most impressive performance that year came in the Aggies’ bowl game which they ended up losing, but he still put up 499 yards through the air.

The senior has a strong arm and has the ability to spread the field and open up the offense. He has also shown to be accurate in the pocket when he has time to throw.

In the 2017 season, he had 14 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and threw for just under 1,800 yards with a 60 percent completion rate in limited action. But in 2018, Kellen Mond beat out Starkel for the starting job and had a great sophomore season. Even with Starkel on the bench, he still saw film of the SEC West week in and week out, which is worth noting. He has also faced Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss when he started in 2017.

Even though Starkel will be playing catch-up since he missed spring at Arkansas, his experience against SEC teams should help him in the quarterback competition.

What Starkel brings as the starter

  • Strong arm with the ability to make any throw on the field
  • Has seen numerous of amounts of game film of SEC West teams as well as getting valuable playing time against most of them
  • Has every tool he needs to become a successful SEC quarterback
  • He doesn’t have the experience or knowledge that Hicks has of Morris’ offense, will that matter?

Below is a clip of Starkel against LSU his freshman year in 2017. The Aggies are trying to stay in the ball game and Starkel throws a perfect ball on a big third down against perfect coverage. He does a good job in the pocket keeping his eyes downfield and putting the ball where only his receiver can catch.

The ability to make throws like this one here in a big situation is one of the reasons why Starkel could have a lot of upside for the Razorbacks.

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