Post-Practice Presser: Picking a Passer

With the big news today coming out of the Auburn Tigers preseason camp, everyone was buzzing for more from the head coach and the new starting quarterback on the Plains.

Yeah, some of those throws? They’ve got us all like:

It doesn’t hurt that it looks like we’ve also really got some receivers who are going up to get the ball, and Stidham definitely seems to have that camaraderie with the rest of the guys. Cracking helmets with the boys? As long as he doesn’t go overboard...

Save that kind of stuff for the rest of us, we’ll take the head trauma.

As for the rest of the presser, Gus had some good nuggets for us:

And Stidham got up to formally accept the job and talk about the day.

For real, imagine the feeling for Jarrett Stidham right now. It’s almost been two years since he’s played college football (November 21, 2015 was his last snap, he said it himself), and he’s got an ultra-talented team around him. Not to mention, he’s also got the chance of a lifetime to become a household name in the toughest division in the game.

He’ll get the prime time showcase in week two when Auburn goes to Clemson, and could very well set the tone for a fantastic season if he can lead his team to a win in Death Valley. Even with the expectations being sky high, Stidham doesn’t need to lead the Tigers to a national championship or a conference title to make his mark on Auburn. Just accomplish one or more of the following:

• Beat LSU in Baton Rouge and break an eight-game losing streak down there.
• Beat Georgia and end Auburn’s inexplicable woes against the Bulldogs. Right now, Auburn’s only two victories in the last decade against Georgia came when the Tigers went to the national championship game.
• Set the Auburn single-season passing record. Dameyune Craig remains the only Tiger quarterback ever to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a single year. That happened in 1997, and since then the closest we’ve gotten was Cam Newton’s 2.854 yard performance in 2010. Chip Lindsey’s offense should prove to be much more air-oriented than Malzahn’s was then, so it’s a high possibility.
• Beat Alabama. That speaks for itself. Beat the Tide and Stidham will have a legacy forever, no matter what the rest of the season holds.

So for now, I’ve just got one thing to say about Jarrett Stidham.

That’s my quarterback. War Eagle.