Starkel’s commitment to Hogs makes quarterback room more competitive

Andy Hodges
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Arkansas picked up another quarterback Monday and it will make the position exactly what Chad Morris wants — much more competitive.

Former Texas A&M quarterback Nick Starkel made the announcement Monday via Twitter:

Morris has said for a year now he wants competition and the Razorbacks are always shopping for quarterbacks, which some people scratch their heads over, but is how it’s done in college football today.

You think Alabama or Clemson aren’t trying to get the best quarterbacks every single year? Just remember in the last three national championship games freshmen quarterbacks have been on the winning side.

It’s all about competition. If you think Morris is going to just announce a quarterback and ride with him, you’re about a decade or so behind the times.

“It’s not a lifetime appointment,” he has said about naming a starter.

Some think incoming freshman KJ Jefferson will be “the guy” after a freshman season where the guess is he’ll be given appearances in up to four games and, depending on how he handles it, will either be on the field or redshirted.

He’s going to have to beat out a bunch of people. Whether they are better or not remains to be seen. We’ve seen a whole slew of great high school quarterbacks disappear in the SEC because, well, it’s an entirely different world.

Starkel was rated a four-star coming out of Argyle, Texas, Christian (and if you don’t know where that is, it’s just off 35-West between Fort Worth and Denton. A lot of pretty good quarterbacks have come out of the area.

He’s 6-foot-3, 218 pounds and will be around for two years. Morris pretty much had him nailed down before his official visit this past weekend in Fayetteville, which is when they closed the deal.

Starkel will be on campus this summer and here’s how the quarterback room breaks down (at least now):

• Ben Hicks, senior
• Nick Starkel, junior
• Jack Lindsey, junior
• Daulton Hyatt, sophomore
• Connor Noland, redshirt freshman
• John Stephen Jones, redshirt freshman
• KJ Jefferson, freshman

Hicks likely will have an advantage coming out of spring. He’s played for Morris before and is basically a graduate assistant with a year of eligibility left.

In just a couple of months, he’s already had a positive impact on everybody on the offensive side of the ball, according to players and coaches. You get the idea he basically ran the offensive workouts before spring drills and he’s helped everyone decipher what Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock are wanting and expecting.

There will be more getting-acquainted sessions starting in June, especially with some receivers coming in that have the potential to be as good as anything to come through Fayetteville.

But for now, Starkel’s arrival will shove the competitive level up a couple of notches.

And that can only help things come September.

 

Anderson on different environment at Vandy, looking back at Ole Miss win

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs’ coach Mike Anderson talked with the media Monday about the unusual floor configuration in Nashville against the Commodores and recapped the win over the Rebels.

Van Horn on Stony Brook series, cold weather cancelling Tuesday’s game

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked with the media Monday and said the team’s speed making a difference and how the cold weather could likely affect Tuesday’s game.

It was announced early in the evening — after Van Horn’s press conference where he said it was likely — that Tuesday’s game with Charlotte was cancelled and would not create a doubleheader Wednesday.

The game Wednesday will be at 3 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Hogs’ Opitz: Cold weather not that big a deal when game gets started

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas catcher Casey Opitz talked with the media in advance of scheduled games against Charlotte at Baum-Walker Stadium midweek.

Ramage previews games this week against Charlotte

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Razorbacks’ pitcher Kole Ramage with the media Monday talking about the games midweek against Charlotte.

Jones on big game against Ole Miss, playing on road at Vanderbilt

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas’ Mason Jones talked with the media Monday about the upcoming road game against the Commodores and his big day in Saturday’s win over Ole Miss.

???? Monday Halftime Pod — featuring Hogville’s Kevin McPherson

Tye Richardson
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???? Monday Halftime Pod — featuring Hogville’s Kevin McPherson

Phil & Tye hit on breaking the losing streak, interview Kevin McPherson, and 3 up 3 down!

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday

Tye Richardson
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday

John & Tommy discuss the 94′ team ceremony, the Ole Miss win, plus Tom Murphy!

Razorbacks fall on road against 19th-ranked A&M; SEC Tournament next

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Chelsea Dungee and Malica Monk scored in double figures, but Arkansas dropped the final regular season SEC game, 66-53, at No. 19 Texas A&M on Sunday.

Arkansas (17-13, 6-10 SEC) struggled to find any rhythm in the first half. Leading scorer Chelsea Dungee had just nine points while her counterpart, Chenndy Carter, had 20 for No. 19 Texas A&M (23-6, 12-4 SEC).

Dungee finished with 15 points to lead Arkansas while Monk added 13 in the loss.

Texas A&M slowed the pace in the second half and Arkansas made a run in the third quarter, winning the frame 18-14.

The Razorbacks cut the lead to single digits and grabbed some momentum as the quarter expired. The Aggies, however, picked up the pace in the final frame and the early deficit was too much for the Razorbacks to overcome.

The SEC Tournament

Tournament action begins on Wednesday with seeds 11-14 meeting in elimination games.

Arkansas enters the tournament as the No. 10 seed and faces No.7 seed Georgia in the second round on Thursday at 5 p.m. The winner of that game moves on against No. 2 seed South Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The SEC Network is airing the first and second rounds as well as the quarterfinals. The semifinals and championship games are on ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively

Notes

• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee

• Malica Monk was in double figures early in the third quarter. She finished with 13 points, scoring in double digits for the 22nd time this season.

• Alexis Tolefree’s six rebounds tied her Arkansas career-high.

• Chelsea Dungee had 15 points scoring in double figures for the 27th time in 30 games.

Gibson tied for eighth; Razorbacks in 13th on opening day at Cabo

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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SAN JOSE del CABO, Mexico — Arkansas freshman Wil Gibson shot a career-low, 2-under-par 69 and is tied for eighth after the opening round of the Querencia Cabo Collegiate.

The Razorbacks are 13th after day one of three at the Querencia Golf Club (par 71/6,928 yards).

Gibson, who is three strokes off the lead and playing as an individual, started his round with a birdie on the par-4, 17th hole and, two holes later, got to 2-under with a birdie on the par-4, 1st hole.

Gibson fell back to even par after dropping shots on holes 3 and 5.

However, he birdied the par-3, 8th and par-4, 13th to get back to 2-under-par. After a bogey on the 15th hole, Gibson closed his round with his fifth birdie of the day on the par-4 16th hole for his 69.

His previous best round was an even-par 70 at the Sea Best Invitational last month.

Ninth-ranked Arizona State leads the team competition, a field that features 11 of the nation’s top 50 teams, after shooting a 15-under-par 269.

Top-ranked Oklahoma State is second (277) with No. 36 Baylor (278), No. 48 Ole Miss (281) and No. 3 Vanderbilt (285) rounding out the top five. Arkansas, ranked 32nd nationally, is 13th with a score of 305.

Julian Perico matched Gibson’s total of five birdies in the opening round and is tied for 27th with an opening-round score of 1-over-par 72.

Rounding out the Razorback quintet are Mason Overstreet (t-51st, 76); Tyson Reeder (t-51st, 76); William Buhl (70th, 81) and Luis Garza (72nd, 83).

The Querencia Cabo Collegiate will continue with 18 holes Monday and 18 final holes on Tuesday.

Tenth-ranked Florida hands Razorbacks first SEC loss in Sunday matches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas fell at home Sunday afternoon to 10th-ranked Florida, 6-1.

Arkansas is now 1-1 in Southeastern Conference play after beating South Carolina 5-2 at home on Friday.

In doubles action, Florida took a 1-0 lead after taking courts three and one each with a score of 6-4. Florida would take court three, but the Razorbacks would even things up with a 6-3 win on court two from Maxim Verboven and his partner, Enrique Paya.

Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida were unable to overcome their deficit on court one as the Gators took the doubles point, 6-4.

In singles play, the Gators would jump out to a 2-0 lead as No. 33 Andres Andrade (UF) would defeat Josh Howard-Tripp, 6-4, 6-0. Oscar Mesquida would cut the lead to 2-1, as he had a decisive 6-3, 6-2 win over the 17th-ranked Oliver Crawford (UF), 6-3, 6-2.

The Gators would clinch the match with successive wins on courts six and four to give them a 4-1 lead. Adam Sanjurjo would fall on court two despite winning a thrilling first set over No. 46 Sam Riffice, 7-6(6), but fell in the second set 6-1, and the third set tiebreaker 10-6.

The Razorbacks return to action this Thursday as it travels to Baylor for a match beginning at 6 p.m. The Hogs return to SEC play Thursday, March 14 to host Vanderbilt 6 p.m.

For more information on Arkansas men’s tennis, follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.

Singles Results (3,1,6,4,2,5)

1. #102 Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. #17 Oliver Crawford (UF) 6-3, 6-2
2. #46 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 10-6
3. #33 Andres Andrade (UF) def. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-4, 6-0
4. #51 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Alex Reco (AR) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Enrique Paya (AR) 7-6 (4-6), 7-6 (7-5)
6. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Jose Alonso (AR) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles Results – Order of Finish (3,2,1)

1. Duarte Vale/McClain Kessler (UF) def. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-4
2. Maxim Verboven/Enrique Paya (AR) def. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-3
3. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Alex Reco/Jose Alonso (AR) 6-4

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