Ben Hicks – Noteworthy
If you want to find out what’s happening on offense, ask someone on defense. Specifically, I like to check with the inside linebackers for insight on the quarterbacks. That’s why I was excited to see De’Jon “Scoota” Harris and Bumper Pool come to the interview room Friday night after Arkansas completed its first workout of spring football drills. Scoota and Bumper could line up just a few feet away from the quarterback in their inside linebacker posts. What do think of transfer quarterback Ben Hicks from SMU, taking the first snaps at quarterback after arriving on campus in the middle of January? “He looked good,” said Harris, a senior and the unquestioned leader of the defense. “He’s an older guy who knows the tempo of this offense.”
Referring to the offense, Harris said, “They’re following him. They bought in with him. He’s a good guy.” Pool, a true sophomore, is the likely replacement for Dre Greenlaw to start beside Harris. He was quick to heap praise on Hicks. “He brings confidence to the guys on offense like no other,” Pool said. “He studies the film. He’s the guy coaching the receivers the past few weeks in our passing drills. “What he brought is a lot of confident ability to the quarterback room. We all see it.” Then, Pool provided some specifics to his assessment. “Those option routes, oh, wow,” he said. “Those reads are so quick. He knows them, he gets it.” – Northwest Arkansas
Nick Starkel – Noteworthy
Former Texas A&M quarterback Nick Starkel will join the Arkansas football team as a graduate transfer this summer, he announced via Twitter on Monday. Starkel is on track to graduate from Texas A&M in May. He will have two seasons of eligibility with the Razorbacks. Starkel (6-foot-3, 218 pounds) won the starting job with the Aggies in 2017, but suffered a broken ankle in the season-opener against UCLA. He returned after missing five games, and passed for 1,793 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions in six games total, twice eclipsing the 400-yard mark.
After Jimbo Fisher took over as Texas A&M head coach last season, Starkel lost his job to fellow sophomore Kellen Mond. Starkel played in four games in 2018, passing for 169 yards and a touchdown. Starkel was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2016 out of Argyle, Texas. He redshirted as a true freshman at Texas A&M. Starkel is the second graduate transfer to join the Arkansas team since the end of last season, when the Razorbacks went 2-10 under first-year coach Chad Morris. Ben Hicks, who played for Morris at SMU in 2016 and 2017, has one season of eligibility remaining beginning this fall. – AL.com