At 7 p.m. Tuesday night, Texas A&M backup quarterback Nick Starkel announced his decision to transfer from A&M.
According to his Twitter account, Starkel will receive his Aggie ring in April before completing the classes necessary to graduate in June.
As a redshirt sophomore, Starkel has two years of eligibility left to spend with another program.
“I am forever thankful for all of the help I have received and I am blessed to have developed important relationships with my professors, mentors, coaches, teammates, and many others,” Starkel said in his announcement. “I will always cherish my time at Texas A&M. I will be an Aggie for life.”
Thank you Aggieland 👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/7CRUy2YxkU
— Nicholas Starkel (@NickStarkel) January 23, 2019
The Argyle native spent the 2018 season as backup to sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond. Starkel appeared in four games, 15-of-22 passing attempts and throwing for 169 yards and a touchdown.
During his freshman season under then-head coach Kevin Sumlin, Starkel started in five games and threw for 1,793 passing yards and 14 touchdowns.
“Since I signed my letter of intent, I have given my all to my teammates, coaches, and the 12th Man — from starting my first college football game under Coach Sumlin and his staff, to winning the Gator Bowl with Coach Fisher,” Starkel said.
On Wednesday, Starkel announced he is looking at Duke, Southern Methodist, Arizona and Ohio State as potential programs to join, according to The Eagle.
In December 2017, Starkel set A&M freshman records for passing yards (499), attempts (63), completions (42) and touchdowns (four) in the Aggies’ 55-52 loss to Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl.
Though Starkel’s departure is an obvious loss for A&M, the Aggies are not lacking depth at the quarterback position. On the current roster are freshman James Foster, freshman Connor Blumrick, junior Bo Schneider, sophomore Colton Taylor, freshman Jagger Laroe and freshman Reinard Britz. Zach Calzada, high school quarterback from Buford, Georgia and four-star recruit according to ESPN, officially signed with A&M in December and enrolled in January.
