Jarrett Stidham, quarterback, Auburn
Stidham’s road to Auburn hasn’t been smooth. He left Baylor after the 2015 season following the broken ankle that ended his promising freshman campaign. Then he spent a season not playing as he attended McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas.
Now he’s fighting for a starting job in Gus Malzahn’s dynamic offense — a job he should win handily over incumbent starter Sean White, though Malzahn won’t name a starter any time soon.
New teammate, running back Kam Martin has already said Stidham “looks like an SEC starter,” both in terms of talent and leadership.
“When Jarrett first got here, he told me that he wanted to be a leader from the jump,” Martin said, via Tom Green of AL.com. “That’s what he did. Every day, Jarrett is breaking out of the group. He’s stepping up and trying to be a leader.”
During his only season at Baylor, Stidham was electric. He completed 68.8 percent of his passes while throwing 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Clearly, he has the physical talent to make big plays on big stages.
If the Tigers have any chance of living up to Malzahn’s vision of competing for a championship in 2017, then Stidham will need to be the man behind center. We predict he will be, and that he’ll elevate that offense in a major way.