Jarrett Stidham admitted at SEC Media Days that he wanted to play for Texas A&M football, but Kevin Sumlin didn’t recruit him hard enough.
Want to know what a knife to the heart feels like? Just ask Texas A&M fans after learning Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Jarrett Stidham wanted to play for the Aggies following his transfer from Baylor.
At SEC Media Days on Thursday afternoon, Stidham admitted he would have loved to be recruited harder by Kevin Sumlin and A&M, but the coaching staff didn’t show much interest.
Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham on the lack of recruitment by Texas A&M after he left Baylor #SECMD18 pic.twitter.com/cTpJ6AxnOQ
— Big Country Blitz (@codycoil) July 19, 2018
Cue the sad music.
“Ideally, A&M was a close spot and I could see my family whenever I wanted,” Stidham admitted.
Sure, things worked out well with the Aggies as Kellen Mond committed and Nick Starkel happens to be one of the better quarterbacks returning in the SEC this season, but any logical Aggie fan just has to wonder what could have been.
What would the Aggies have looked like with Stidham under center?
Just imagine an offense in 2017 with Christian Kirk catching passes from Stidham. He could have put together a video game-like season in receptions and yards, but Jhamon Ausbon, too, would have benefitted greatly from one steady quarterback with no health issues.
The Aggies finished 7-6, but likely would have held off UCLA, gave Alabama a bigger scare, flipped the script with Auburn and would have beaten Wake Forest in a Belk Bowl shootout. That’s at least three more wins right there and a 10-win season — that could have saved Sumlin’s job.
Overall, Stidham would have made the Aggies’ offense far more effective in 2017 and made them preseason Top 25 material in 2018. But don’t sleep on Starkel because the kid can ball.
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We may also be talking about Sumlin as the Aggies’ head coach still if Stidham came to town. Not landing him out of Baylor has some positives, after all.