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Auburn Football: Jarrett Stidham no lock to start, says Gus Malzahn

By Connor Muldowney

WACO, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Jarrett Stidham #3 of the Baylor Bears throws against the Oklahoma Sooners in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Jarrett Stidham #3 of the Baylor Bears throws against the Oklahoma Sooners in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Despite landing one of the top quarterback transfers of 2017, Jarrett Stidham, Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn is hesitant to name a starter.

If you’re an Auburn football fan, you have to feel good about the state of your program heading into the 2017 season. Gus Malzahn is returning a talented team and the question marks at quarterback have been seemingly answered with Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham.

Or so we thought.

According to Michael Wayne Bratton of Saturday Down South, Auburn’s head coach has been hesitant to name Stidham the starter despite the overwhelming assumption from the media and fans. He went as far as to say junior Sean White has a chance to win the job.

"“He’s got a real chance. Jarrett Stidham is a very talented quarterback. The good thing, right now from a coach’s standpoint, we’ve got two real guys — we know that for sure,” Malzahn said. “That’s a great security blanket coming forward this season.”"

Many believe Stidham chose to transfer to Auburn because of the likelihood that he would become the team’s No. 1 quarterback immediately. Heck, he probably thought the same thing, but if Malzahn’s quote from SEC Media Days is any indication, it’s an open race.

Of course it’s a security blanket for the head coach to have two quarterbacks with starting experience at Power Five programs, but the question remains: who wins the job?

The popular choice would be Stidham. He replaced an injured Seth Russell in 2015, appearing in 10 games for Baylor and passing for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns with a 69 percent completion rate. He starred for a team that was otherwise in major quarterback trouble due to injuries.

White, on the other hand, had a hand in leading the Tigers to the Sugar Bowl last season and finished the year with 1,679 yards and nine touchdowns with a 64 percent completion rate. The choice is tougher than most think.

Next: SEC Football: 5 teams that can dethrone Alabama in 2017

Either way, Malzahn will hope that the winner of the battle stays healthy and the eventual backup doesn’t decide to transfer. For now, he has a good problem on his hands.

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