A bad 24 hours got worse for Texas A&M and coach Kevin Sumlin.
One day after blowing a 44-10 third quarter lead in a shocking loss to UCLA, the sixth-year coach of the Aggies said on his radio show that starting quarterback Nick Starkel and starting nickelback Donovan Wilson will miss significant time after undergoing surgeries, according to Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle.
Sumlin said on radio show Nick Starkel had surgery on broken ankle & Donovan Wilson had foot surgery. Don't know if will return this season.
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) September 5, 2017
This is an enormous blow to the Aggies, who were already reeling after suffering through one of the biggest meltdowns in college football history.
Starkel won the job coming out of fall camp, and was under center as the Aggies built their big lead over the Bruins. He completed six of his 13 passes for 62 yards, was pulled late in the second quarter to get true freshman Kellen Mond some experience, and then replaced by Mond after suffering the ankle injury early in the third quarter. He returned to the sideline on crutches.
The passing game was virtually non-existent with Mond in as the freshman completed just three of his 17 passes for 27 yards. More of a dual-threat, expect the offense in Aggieland to be zone-read heavy with Mond taking the snaps unless senior Jake Hubenak -- who didn't play in the opener -- takes over.
Wilson is big loss to the Aggie secondary as well. He started 14 games at nickelback over the last two seasons, notching 59 tackles a year ago and 63 as a sophomore in 2015.
Texas A&M hosts Nicholls State Saturday night at Kyle Field in its home opener.
