The San Jose State football team suffered a dispirited 23-3 loss Saturday against Western Michigan as the team lost senior quarterback and captain Nick Starkel to a left-arm injury.
The Spartans offensive line had a tough time protecting Starkel against the Broncos defense, giving up six sacks.
Starkel went down late in the second half after being sacked by a Broncos linebacker who fell on Starkel.
Starkel made his way back to the sidelines in the fourth quarter after being examined by the SJSU medical staff, but returned in an arm sling.
Both freshman quarterbacks Walker Eget and Natano Woods were rotated in the game after Starkel’s injury as both got their first snaps under center at the collegiate level.
Senior running back Tyler Nevens stepped up for SJSU in Starkel’s absence as he ran for a season high 94 yards on 15 carries.
Nevens addressed Starkel’s injury after the game.
“It’s big, I’m not going to lie to you,” Nevens said, according to a Saturday SJSU Football article.
Head coach Brent Brennan also spoke on Starkel’s injury during a Monday news conference.
‘’[Starkel’s] getting evaluated by staff and we got to get into the week and figure out how that's going to play out with practice,” Brennan said.
With Starkel out because of an injury, the Spartans have to choose one of the three quarterbacks to lead the team this Saturday against New Mexico State.
One option would be Eget as he completed one of eight passing attempts for eight yards.
Woods also made an impression Saturday night when he split time below center with Eget against the Broncos defense.
He threw it minus four yards and only completed two passes out of his four attempts.
“Natano has played a little bit. Walker has played a little bit . . . I think it's more of us coming up with a plan that we can execute at a high level because we didn't do that against a good team on Saturday,” Brennan said.
Wide receiver and former quarterback Nick Nash is another possible option to replace Starkel.
Nash was praised last year when he stepped in and led SJSU to win after Starkel went down with an undisclosed injury early in the game against San Diego State on Nov. 16, 2020.
Nash helped the Spartans to a second-half comeback win of 28-17 to continue their then undefeated season.
Nash had career highs in that game with 169 passing yards and two touchdowns. He finished third on the team in rushing in the 2020 Fall season as well.
Brennan said it’s plausible Nash will come into Starkel’s absence, but nothing is concrete.
‘’[Our intent with Nash] has been his ability to keep him moving around and doing a bunch of stuff for us,” he said.
The Spartans (2-2) are expected to play against New Mexico State (1-4) Saturday at CEFCU stadium at 7:30 p.m., the Spartans’ first home game in over a month.
