Nick Starkel at Alabama
At/Behind LOS: 1/4, 3 yards
1-5 yard throws: 3/6, 33 yards, INT
6-10 yard throws: 1/5, 22 yards, INT
11-15 yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
16+ yard throws: 0/4, 0 yards, INT
Yards after catch: 49 (Rakeem Boyd 15, Treylon Burks 14, Devwah Whaley 13, Cheyenne O’Grady 7)
Interceptable passes (not intercepted but could have been): 0
Inaccurate passes: 7 (incomplete to Mike Woods 6 yards downfield, behind; incomplete to Whaley 1 yard downfield; incomplete to Woods 30 yards downfield, overthrown; incomplete to Whaley 5 yards behind LOS, pass was hot and high; intercepted targeting Trey Knox 16 yards downfield; incomplete to O’Grady 24 yards downfield into end zone, no receiver within 5 yards of the pass; intercepted targeting Whaley 9 yards downfield)
Passes tipped at line: 3
Passes broken up: 1
First-down throws on 3rd down: 2 (complete to Boyd 7 yards downfield for gain of 22; complete to Whaley 2 yards downfield for gain of 15)
Drops: 2 (Woods on 26-yard back-shoulder throw down sideline; Knox 8 yards downfield with Arkansas backed up near end zone)
Throwaways: 1 (screen play designed for Whaley blown up, Starkel threw ball in the ground near Whaley)
Analysis: After drawing his first DNP of the season against Auburn, Arkansas' coaching staff elected to give Nick Starkel a shot last week at No. 1 Alabama. Coaches have said they will start the quarterback who gives the team the best chance to win.
When he is on, Starkel's arm talent can be a big plus for Arkansas, but Saturday marked his second consecutive start in which he was a detriment to the Razorbacks.
Starkel finished the game 5 of 19 passing for 58 yards and three interceptions. He also mishandled a snap from center Ty Clary that was a bit high but catchable. I charted Starkel with seven inaccurate passes, his second-highest single-game figure of the season behind only the five-interception debacle vs. San Jose State (8). It is also the third most inaccurate balls an Arkansas quarterback has thrown in a game this season (Ben Hicks 9 vs. Auburn). To his credit, Starkel did deliver a pair of nice passes to running backs on 3rd down that resulted in first downs, but his inaccuracies were killers.
Among the passes he would like to have back was an overthrown deep ball to Mike Woods that would have resulted in a touchdown. Woods left the Crimson Tide DB flat footed as he sprinted out of the backfield and up the seam, but the pass sailed by five-plus yards. Starkel's struggles connecting on 16-plus-yard throws has been alarming in recent outings. Since opening the season 8 of 16 for 243 yards and a touchdown on such passes, he is 3 of 20 for 120 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in his last four games.
Already with two interceptions near the end of the first half and Arkansas moving the ball fairly effectively on the ground with John Stephen Jones at quarterback, it was stunning to see the coaching staff put Starkel back in the lineup. On his next attempt, he threw errantly into the end zone. There was no Razorbacks receiver within five yards of the throw. Then, he made a poor decision in targeting Devwah Whaley on a wheel route and was intercepted for the third and final time. Alabama defensive back Trevon Diggs returned the pick 84 yards for a touchdown.
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said Monday he believes Starkel lost a lot of confidence following the loss to San Jose State. It's clear he has not been the same player since. Entering the final month of the season, the quarterback thought to be most inclined to drive and revive the Arkansas offense is likely no longer in the picture.
John Stephen Jones at Alabama
At/Behind LOS: 6/6, 49 yards, TD
1-5 yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
6-10 yard throws: 0/1, 0 yards
11-15 yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
16+ yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
Yards after catch: 68 (Boyd 41, Whaley 15, O’Grady 12)
Interceptable passes: 0
Inaccurate passes: 1 (complete to Whaley 6 yards behind LOS, throw made Whaley turn his body but picked up 9 yards on swing pass)
Passes tipped at line: 0
Passes broken up: 0
Drops: 0
Throwaways: 1 (incomplete 7 yards downfield on 3rd down)
Analysis: After taking first-team reps in practices leading up to Arkansas' trip to Alabama, it seemed inevitable that John Stephen Jones would see the field for the first time in 2019. In his relief appearance, Jones did nothing to hurt the Razorbacks. In fact, the Razorbacks were most effective offensively with Jones running the read option. Alabama coach Nick Saban said in his on-field interview following the game that the Crimson Tide were not prepared for what Jones presented in that regard. Chad Morris and Craddock both said Monday, too, that the third-string quarterback properly diagnosed nearly every read in the game.
Jones finished 6 of 7 passing for 49 yards and a touchdown - the first of his career - to O'Grady to open the fourth quarter. Coaches kept the passing game very simple for Jones. Six of his seven pass attempts were at or behind the line of scrimmage, and running backs did a terrific job picking up yards after the catch. Jones' one other pass was a throwaway on 3rd down.
Overall, he performed admirably, but if Jones is the quarterback moving forward he will have to show he is a threat targeting receivers beyond the line of scrimmage to keep defenses honest.
Up-to-date season stats
Nick Starkel
At/Behind LOS: 21/32, 81 yards, INT
1-5 yard throws: 28/37, 209 yards, TD, INT
6-10 yard throws: 22/40, 237 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
11-15 yard throws: 11/24, 228 yards, 2 TD, INT
16+ yard throws: 11/36, 363 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT
Interceptable passes: 6
Inaccurate passes: 32
Ben Hicks
At/Behind LOS: 16/24, 57 yards
1-5 yard throws: 16/27, 134 yards
6-10 yard throws: 10/23, 149 yards, TD
11-15 yard throws: 8/16, 101 yards, TD
16+ yard throws: 10/25, 241 yards, INT
Interceptable passes: 9
Inaccurate passes: 19
John Stephen Jones
At/Behind LOS: 6/6, 49 yards, TD
1-5 yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
6-10 yard throws: 0/1, 0 yards
11-15 yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
16+ yard throws: 0/0, 0 yards
Interceptable passes: 0
Inaccurate passes: 1