Nick Starkel
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | February 24, 1998 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 214 lb (97 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Liberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas) |
| College: |
|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Undrafted: | 2022 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Nicholas Starkel (born February 24, 1998) is an American former college football quarterback who played at Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas, and San Jose State University.
Early life
Starkel was born in Pittsburgh to Wendy and Murray Starkel.[1] Starkel lived in eight different cities prior to graduating from high school, as his father Murray was a longtime United States Army officer who worked with the Army's Corps of Engineers.[2]
Starkel attended Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas, where he threw for 4,745 yards and 48 touchdowns in three seasons, 3,091 of which came from his senior season. A three-star recruit, Starkel initially committed to Oklahoma State, but after talking with former USC quarterback Cody Kessler, he de-committed from Oklahoma State and narrowed it to UCLA and Texas A&M, committing to play college football at Texas A&M.[3][4]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Starkel QB |
Argyle, Texas | Liberty Christian School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 27, 2016 | |
Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
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| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
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College career
Texas A&M
Starkel entered Texas A&M redshirting his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, he won the starting quarterback job, although he suffered a broken leg in the season-opener against UCLA.[5][6] Starkel returned to play six more games in 2017, including a 499-yard, four touchdown performance against Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl that was a Belk Bowl record.[7][8]
Under new head coach Jimbo Fisher, Starkel lost the starting job to Mond, the latter thriving under Fisher's system, leading to Starkel announcing he would transfer as a graduate student, with immediate eligibility.[9][10]
Arkansas
Starkel transferred to Arkansas before the 2019 season.[11] He competed with Ben Hicks for the starting quarterback job, and split time with Hicks in the season opener against Portland State.[12] After replacing Hicks in a 31–17 loss to Ole Miss, Starkel was named the Razorbacks starter for their game against Colorado State, throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns in a 55–34 win.[13][14] The following week, he threw five interceptions in a loss to San Jose State. Starkel announced he would transfer from Arkansas after one season, later citing conflict with head coach Chad Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.[15]
San Jose State
After Starkel put his name in the transfer portal, former San Jose State football player Josh Love reached out to Starkel and informed him the San Jose State coaches were interested in a transfer quarterback and put the two sides in touch.[2][16] Starkel later announced that he would transfer to San Jose State in 2020.[17]
At San Jose State, Starkel had a stellar 2020 season, posting career-highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and passer rating, as San Jose State went 7–0 in conference play and won the 2020 Mountain West Conference Championship. Starkel was named the game's most valuable player after throwing for 453 yards and three touchdowns in the game.[18] Starkel was also named to the Mountain West's All-Conference second team.[19]
With the NCAA approving a waiver that allowed college football players to retain their 2020 standing for the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Starkel announced on Twitter that he would return for a sixth season of eligibility.[20][21]
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Texas A&M Aggies | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Redshirt 
| |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 7 | 5 | 2–3 | 123 | 205 | 60.0 | 1,793 | 8.7 | 14 | 6 | 150.2 | 12 | −42 | −3.5 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | 0–0 | 15 | 22 | 68.2 | 169 | 7.7 | 1 | 0 | 147.7 | 1 | −6 | −6.0 | 0 | |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 8 | 5 | 1–4 | 96 | 179 | 53.6 | 1,152 | 6.4 | 7 | 10 | 109.4 | 6 | −16 | −2.7 | 0 | |
| San Jose State Spartans | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 8 | 8 | 7–1 | 163 | 254 | 64.2 | 2,174 | 8.6 | 17 | 7 | 152.6 | 13 | −40 | −3.1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 6 | 2–4 | 128 | 248 | 51.6 | 1,645 | 6.6 | 9 | 7 | 113.7 | 15 | −71 | −4.7 | 1 | |
| Career | 34 | 24 | 12−12 | 525 | 908 | 57.8 | 6,933 | 7.6 | 48 | 30 | 132.8 | 47 | −185 | −3.9 | 2 | |
Post-college career
After not being selected in the 2022 NFL draft, Starkel attended the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets' rookie minicamps but was not signed.[22] He later became the quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator, and junior varsity head coach at Corona del Mar High School. Starkel also works as a private quarterback tutor.[23]
References
- ^ Staples, Andy (August 20, 2021). "Beyond Twitter beefs and the Biebs, Nick Starkel is living his best college football life at San Jose State". The Athletic. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Stacy, Kelli. "Who is Nick Starkel? A case study of a journeying quarterback". The Athletic. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Report: Former OSU quarterback commit Nick Starkel explains reason he flipped to Texas A&M". Tulsa World. May 18, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "Argyle Liberty Christian QB Nick Starkel picks Aggies over UCLA". TexAgs. January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel Suffers Apparent Foot Injury in Loss to UCLA". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel Could Be Out for Season After Ankle Surgery". Sports Illustrated. September 4, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Season Ends with 55–52 Loss in Belk Bowl". Texas A&M Athletics. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "How one pass out of 63 in A&M's Belk Bowl loss might make Nick Starkel the Aggies' QB for 2018 and beyond". Dallas Morning News. January 6, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ Nicholas Starkel [@NickStarkel] (January 23, 2019). "Thank you Aggieland" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Nick Starkel announces transfer from Texas A&M". Saturday Down South. January 22, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Texas A&M Transfer QB Nick Starkel Announces Commitment". The Spun. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Arkansas quarterback battle: Ben Hicks named starter over former Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel". CBS Sports. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Former Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel takes over starting spot at Arkansas from former SMU QB Ben Hicks". Dallas Morning News. September 9, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Starkel makes first start, leads Arkansas over Colorado St". ESPN. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ "Nick Starkel Says UA Coaches Made Him Feel Like a Trashed "Old Toy"". Best of Arkansas Sports. December 31, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Starkel finds fresh start at SJSU". SJSU News. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Former SEC Starting QB Appears To Reveal Transfer Decision". The Spun. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "No. 24 San José State beats Boise State in MW football title game". Mountain West Conference. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Mountain West Announces 2020 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". Mountain West Conference. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Delos Santos, Justice (December 30, 2020). "San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel announces he'll be back next season". Mercury News. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Nick Starkel [@NickStarkel] (December 29, 2020). "College Football might be tired of me, but I'm not tired of College Football!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Hill Jr., Clarence E. (May 12, 2022). "Former Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel living a dream at Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Hutchinson, Andrew (September 7, 2023). "'Coach Pittman Probably Did the Best Thing for Me': Nick Starkel Reflects on Arkansas & Aftermath". Best of Arkansas Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2024.