Is Jarrett Stidham the Next Big Thing at Auburn?
Spring Games are the beginning of a new season in college football. We get our first looks at the new faces joining our teams, the faces replacing the old who are gone and moved on, and the next set of stars shine on the field for the first time.
Stidham looked fluid throwing the football, reliable with his accuracy and ball placement, and his decision-making was dialed in. Apart from a ball slightly overthrown in the end zone, and a couple of drops from his receivers, Stidham was perfect.
But how did this young man end up at Auburn University? Coming out of Stephenville High School in Texas as part of the class of 2015, Stidham was a 5 star recruit and 24/7 Sports #1 ranked Dual Ranked Quarterback. Holding offers from pretty much any school in the country including Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford and USC, Stidham chose Baylor over them all.
Stidham was one of several players who left Baylor in early 2016 following the sexual scandal that unfolded after the 2015 season. He transfered out to McLennan Community College and sat out the 2016 season, focusing on his schoolwork. Stidham topped every Junior College Transfer prospect board as the nations #1 JUCO recruit, and received scholarship offers from Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M.
Stidham enrolled early at Auburn this season, and threatens Sean White for the starting job that he held through minor injuries last season.
Sean White, a junior, led the SEC last season in completion percentage. He is a small, accurate passer who stands only at 6'0" and 190 pounds, and missed a couple of games last season with an ankle injury before breaking his arm in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma, a terrible outing for the Auburn team in general. Despite his completion percentage crown in the SEC, Sean White struggles with consistency, and for a Gus Malzahn offense running out of it's Power Spread, inconsistency isn't an option at the quarterback position.
Stidham as a freshman at Baylor played pretty solidly in his 3 starts he was pressed into following a Seth Russell injury. His first start, a 419 yard and 3 TD outing against Kansas State, showed a lot of promise and poise from the young quarterback. One of his best traits is his ability to learn timing and combine that with his accuracy, and that was on full stage in his first 3 starts at Baylor.
Fast forward to 2017. The Auburn "A-Game". That timing and accuracy was on full display his second throw of the game. A simple wheel route from the inside receiver, Nathan Craig-Myers, on the right side of the line, and the outside receiver ran a post inside. Stidham hit him on stride for a 50 yard pass play, 10-15 of those yards were after the catch. So the question remains clear. Is Jarrett Stidham the next big thing at Auburn?
The main differences between White and Stidham are the vast differences in the deep ball placement ability, Stidham has a much stronger arm and better deep ball timing, and the mobile ability, Stidham is much more mobile, a must for Malzahn's Power Spread scheme. Despite these couple of clear indicators that Stidham would be the better quarterback in both talent and scheme fits, the Auburn Coaching Staff seem reluctant to name their transfer student the starter and hand him the keys to the car.
"[I think] the first team offense is playing pretty good right now," Malzahn said shortly after the A-Game, "and I think our receivers are starting to take the next step. Sean White, with what he's been able to do in the spring, I thought he's improved and done a good job. It's hard to talk about disparity right now, just from Spring."
With Stidham's abilities well known across the country, Defensive Coordinators on Auburn's schedule would much rather deal with Sean White playing quarterback then Jarrett Stidham. I'm absolutely sure that they are hoping that Malzahn remains loyal to White.
The last time we saw the Auburn offense running at full force was when Nick Marshall led the team on to it's National Championship loss to Florida State, with Nick Marshall running the offense. Using designed quarterback runs and relying on Marshall's short ball accuracy, Auburn was unstoppable all season long on offense, even toppling the #1 ranked and undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl. Stidham may be slightly less mobile as Marshall, but he brings a new style to the Auburn offense that they haven't seen since the days of Cam Newton - Deep ball accuracy.
Yes, Jarrett Stidham is the next best thing for the Auburn Tigers. The worst thing left for Malzahn to do as he heads into a crucial season of his career as the Tiger's head coach is to mess up on this one and play White over Stidham. An 8 win season for him simply won't keep him his job. He needs to make a serious run at the SEC West crown. Win the Iron Bowl. Advance to the Playoff. He has the roster to do it this year, so for the sake of the SEC, Gus, don't mess this one up.
But how did this young man end up at Auburn University? Coming out of Stephenville High School in Texas as part of the class of 2015, Stidham was a 5 star recruit and 24/7 Sports #1 ranked Dual Ranked Quarterback. Holding offers from pretty much any school in the country including Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford and USC, Stidham chose Baylor over them all.
Stidham enrolled early at Auburn this season, and threatens Sean White for the starting job that he held through minor injuries last season.
Stidham as a freshman at Baylor played pretty solidly in his 3 starts he was pressed into following a Seth Russell injury. His first start, a 419 yard and 3 TD outing against Kansas State, showed a lot of promise and poise from the young quarterback. One of his best traits is his ability to learn timing and combine that with his accuracy, and that was on full stage in his first 3 starts at Baylor.
Fast forward to 2017. The Auburn "A-Game". That timing and accuracy was on full display his second throw of the game. A simple wheel route from the inside receiver, Nathan Craig-Myers, on the right side of the line, and the outside receiver ran a post inside. Stidham hit him on stride for a 50 yard pass play, 10-15 of those yards were after the catch. So the question remains clear. Is Jarrett Stidham the next big thing at Auburn?
"[I think] the first team offense is playing pretty good right now," Malzahn said shortly after the A-Game, "and I think our receivers are starting to take the next step. Sean White, with what he's been able to do in the spring, I thought he's improved and done a good job. It's hard to talk about disparity right now, just from Spring."
With Stidham's abilities well known across the country, Defensive Coordinators on Auburn's schedule would much rather deal with Sean White playing quarterback then Jarrett Stidham. I'm absolutely sure that they are hoping that Malzahn remains loyal to White.
Yes, Jarrett Stidham is the next best thing for the Auburn Tigers. The worst thing left for Malzahn to do as he heads into a crucial season of his career as the Tiger's head coach is to mess up on this one and play White over Stidham. An 8 win season for him simply won't keep him his job. He needs to make a serious run at the SEC West crown. Win the Iron Bowl. Advance to the Playoff. He has the roster to do it this year, so for the sake of the SEC, Gus, don't mess this one up.
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