San Jose State Football: Nick Starkel is MWwire’s 2020 Newcomer of the Year
The Spartans quarterback arrived in San Jose and spearheaded the program’s surge to a Mountain West football championship.
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Score one for transfer quarterbacks.
Mountain West Wire’s 2020 postseason honors:
All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
For the second straight year, the San Jose State Spartans got exceptional quarterback play and, as a result, Nick Starkel was our staff’s pick as Mountain West football’s newcomer of the year.
Strange as it may seem in retrospect, Starkel’s arrival from Arkansas came with a fair number of questions after a up-and-down stint in Fayetteville that, coincidentally enough, included a loss to these same Spartans last fall. Under the guidance of head coach Brent Brennan and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, though, Starkel removed all doubt from the get-go and finished the year with 1,906 passing yards, a 65.1% completion rate and 16 touchdowns against just four interceptions in seven games.
Starkel also led the Mountain West with nine yards per attempt and a 161.75 passer rating, guiding the Spartans’ powerful passing attack to its first conference title since 1991. In all, it made for one of the best narratives on a team stuffed to the brim with them.
Also received votes: Greg Bell, running back, San Diego State; Jake Haener, quarterback, Fresno State; Scott Patchan, defensive lineman, Colorado State
