San Jose State's wild season will conclude on NYE 2020 with Nick Starkel behind the wheel

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SJSU QB Nick Starkel will be a sixth-year-senior in 2021. (photo by Neville E. Guard)

SJSU QB Nick Starkel will be a sixth-year-senior in 2021. (photo by Neville E. Guard)

By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com

San Jose State football might be the most 2020 team ever.

With their shortened season not starting until October 24th, the Spartans weren’t allowed to practice on or around their campus due to Coronavirus, so they set up shop in Humboldt County for their training camp. The Humboldt prep paid off immediately as the Spartans began the year with a win over Air Force and never looked back. Playing in a talented Mountain West Conference that they’ve never won, SJSU went 7-0 on the year with notable wins over Hawaii, Nevada and Boise State. Their last two “home” games on their schedule were played in Honolulu and Las Vegas, as they continued to follow state and local pandemic guidelines.

For their Arizona Bowl matchup with Ball State, however, San Jose State has decided to politely ignore Santa Clara County’s ten day quarantine policy and fly to Tucson in time for their New Year’s Eve matchup. The Spartans won the Mountain West Championship game on December 19th in Vegas and could have stayed in Nevada, but they elected to come back home to San Jose so the players could see their families for Christmas. Less than ten days later, they were back in a plane headed to Arizona. County Executive Dr. Jeff Smith told the Mercury News, “We can’t stop them.”

After finishing 1-11 in 2018 under current head coach Brent Brennan, the born again Spartans will be looking to complete their first undefeated season since 1939 on Thursday. They will be led by journeyman quarterback Nick Starkel, who has been in college for five years already and is completing his fourth year on the field. Somehow, he will be back yet again next year, as the NCAA has granted all 2020 players an extra year of eligibility. Anytime you can go to college for six years and play QB the whole time, you have to do it, right?

Growing up in a military household, Starkel moved around a bunch as a kid until finally settling in to Texas life during his high school years where he made a name for himself as a big time recruit with heavy interest from SEC schools. But once Starkel reached his first college campus, he adopted his father’s transient ways quite quickly. After completing 138 passes over the course of two years playing for Texas A&M, Starkel found himself with a new coach and a new role as backup QB, so he wasted no time moving on to find a home as a starter. That led him to Fayetteville to play for the Hogs of Arkansas where he played eight games and experienced a nightmare season. Arkansas finished 2-10 in 2019, which included a home loss to San Jose State no less. Starkel threw more interceptions than he did touchdown passes, but Coach Brennan still saw some potential in him. If he ever got tired of the SEC, the MWC was always waiting.

Starkel took Brennan up on his offer and pulled the trigger on his third college in as many years and it couldn’t have turned out any better. While running an offense he’s only known for a few months, Starkel has reeled off 16 touchdowns in this shortened seasoned while throwing just four interceptions. Even with a prototypical NFL frame of 6’3”, 215 and a big arm to match, Starkel apparently can’t resist the chance to spend one more year on campus. Picture it now, the year is 2021, the Pandemic is in the rear view and College Gameday is set up under a palm tree on the SJSU campus. Indoor dining is legal and encouraged. Second year Senior Nick Starkel is being interviewed by Kirk Herbstreit on national television. Surely, stranger things have happened.

The Van Wilder comparison is uncanny. (Photo by Joe Scarnici)

The Van Wilder comparison is uncanny. (Photo by Joe Scarnici)