Jimbo Fisher weighs in on Nick Starkel now starting at Arkansas
By Keith Farner
Published:
Nick Starkel has kept the respect of Jimbo Fisher ever since he left Texas A&M, and the coach remains steadfast in his opinion of the now starting quarterback at Arkansas.
Fisher at SEC Media Days in July said Starkel has “tremendous ability” with great arm talent and mentally understands the game. Fisher reiterated then that either quarterback last season, Starkel or Kellen Mond, could start for the Aggies.
That’s why he isn’t surprised that Starkel has moved to the top of the quarterback depth chart for Arkansas in his first season there.
“Nick is a very good player and a great young man,” Fisher said. “I’ve had to play (former players) before and it’s not weird. You get used to it.”
Starkel is coming off a five-interception performance last week in a loss against San Jose State. Overall, Starkel has completed 60 percent of his passes this season for 910 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Those six picks are the most in the SEC.
Texas A&M, though, is coming off a loss at Auburn in which Fisher said, “We’re getting better and are learning to handle (adversity). We’ve played two really good teams and are working to get better and better. We have to be process oriented and not result oriented. I understand that is frustrating for fans, but we can’t get caught up in results.”
The teams will meet for an 11 a.m. local time start on Saturday in Arlington, Texas, in a game set to air on ESPN.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
