ARLINGTON, Texas -- Three weeks after Ben Hicks lost his job as the University of Arkansas' starting quarterback, the senior showed he was ready to play off the bench.
Texas A&M held on to beat the Razorbacks 31-27 on Saturday at AT&T Stadium, but Hicks gave Arkansas a chance to win after replacing injured starter Nick Starkel late in the second quarter.
"I thought he was very calm and matter of fact on the sideline," Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. "He was very prepared. He had a great feel for what was going on with our offense.
"I think he's had a chance over the last couple of weeks to step back and prepare himself, knowing that the opportunity was going to come again."
Hicks completed 15 of 27 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, and he had a 17-yard scramble as the Razorbacks tried to rally on their last possession of the game.
"Man, I'm impressed by Ben," Arkansas tight end Cheyenne "C.J." O'Grady said. "He's been the same person every day, even after he lost the starting role.
"In practice, he's always out there encouraging people, helping people out. He's just very consistent in what he does, and that is why he showed up today and played like he did."
Hicks led Arkansas on a 41-yard scoring drive on his first series -- after Treylon Burks' 32-yard punt return -- when he hit Mike Woods with a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the Razorbacks ahead 17-14 with 1:55 left in the second quarter.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7hiwMLH-Qw
"I knew I'd be ready," Hicks said. "I'm always ready to play. I went out there, had fun and just cut it loose.
"It was a lot of fun. Obviously, I wish we could have won. We played our tails off."
Morris said he's not sure when Starkel will be ready to play after suffering a left arm contusion, but he said Starkel has not lost the starting job.
Arkansas has an open date this week, so Starkel will have two weeks to heal before the Razorbacks' next game at Kentucky on Oct. 12.
"Nick's our starter," Morris said.
Hicks was asked about his reaction to that news.
"I don't make those decisions," Hicks said. "We'll go back to work and just keep chugging along."
Hicks, a graduate transfer from SMU who lost the starting job when Starkel played the entire second half of the second game at Ole Miss, said it hasn't been tough to keep himself prepared.
"This is the last chance I've got," Hicks said. "These last few games are the last opportunity I have to play college football, so I'm going to be as ready as I can be each and every week.
"When my time comes, I'm just going to go out there and cut it loose and get after it. That's what I did today. That's what I'll do going forward."
Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madubuike said the Aggies were surprised by Hicks, who in the first two games completed 21 of 45 passes (46.7%) for 241 yards without a touchdown or interception in his starts against Portland State and Ole Miss.
"We were expecting Nick to play the whole game," said Madubuike, who had an interception on Starkel's last play. "Obviously, it didn't happen.
"We didn't watch as much film for No. 6 [Hicks] as we did for Nick. He's a great player. We weren't expecting him to make the plays that he made."
Arkansas safety Kamren Curl said Hicks gave the team a lift off the bench.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbyU76rNQs
"Ben came out like a superstar," Curl said. "I told him after the game I loved the way he came in and turned it up like that. He came in trying to win the game. That's what I like to see."
Curl said Hicks' response after losing the starting job is a sign of his maturity.
"He's not going to let it mess him up," Curl said. "He just stuck to the plan and kept grinding. When his opportunity came, he showed what he could do."
Texas A&M took a 31-27 lead with 3:52 left on Seth Small's 50-yard field goal, so Arkansas needed a touchdown to win when the Razorbacks started their final possession at their own 25.
Arkansas drove to the Aggies' 19, where Hicks' pass on fourth and 5 intended for O'Grady fell incomplete with 31 seconds left.
"I was excited, man," Hicks said of the feeling going into the final drive. "I thought we had played well and been driving the ball on them most of the second half. We just came off a long drive and got a field goal, so I believed in what we were doing.
"Obviously, it was four-down territory to go down and win the game, so I knew I had four downs to get it every time. I tried to take some chances, but at the same time stay in the system and cut it loose.
"The last play, I was trying to give C.J. a chance. Just came up short."
Sports on 09/29/2019