Former AU QBs weigh in on Stidham

[WFE12 9,191]

Former Auburn QBs weigh in on Jarrett Stidham

• Phillip Marshall - Aug 16, 1:00 AM

 

Ben Leard and Stan White know what it’s like to play quarterback for Auburn when the masses in the stands, the noise and the pressure of a game of great significance all come together. They know what it’s like to have their teammates look to them for leadership and courage when it matters the most.

Leard was an All-Southeastern Conference selection in the 2000 season and led Auburn to the SEC West Division championship and to the SEC Championship Game. White was a four-year starter who led the 11-0 season of 1993. He remains the most prolific passer in Auburn history.

Third-year sophomore Jarrett Stidham, named Auburn’s starting quarterback on Monday, has experienced none of those things at Auburn. He sat out last season after leaving Baylor, enrolled at Auburn last January and won the job over former starter Sean White in preseason camp.

Stidham’s time is at hand.

Leard, a commercial insurance specialist for J. Smith Lanier in Auburn, and White, who owns a State Farm agency and does color commentary on Auburn football broadcasts, have watched Stidham closely through expert quarterback eyes. And they have been impressed.

“It’s the way he carries himself – head high, shoulders up,” Leard said. “You can tell this is a young man who is comfortable with the role he has been put into and is good with meeting it head-on. You watch him jump around at practice, how he mingles with the offensive line and the defensive line. You can see visibly that he has the locker room. That’s a huge thing, especially for a newcomer who has never taken a snap at Auburn.”

 

Ben Leard made All-SEC in 2000. (Photo: Getty)

 

It wasn’t easy, Stan White says. It couldn’t have been. Stidham showed up in January. Sean White is going into his fourth Auburn season. Sean White long ago won the respect of his teammates and his coaches.

“The huge challenge is to not only come in and compete for the job, but you have to win over teammates,” Stan White said. “None of the players on this team came in with him. Normally, you’ll have 25 or so guys who have that kinship with that were in your signing class. He doesn’t have that.

“I applaud the way he has come in and won over his teammates. It was a big challenge for him to come in and fit in. You are coming in and competing against a guy that’s been there for three years and actually signed with Auburn out of high school. It’s not an easy thing to do.”

But what about when the ball is snapped?  Does he live up to the hype that was significant when he arrived and has grown since?

“He throws the ball so effortlessly,” Leard said. “If you look at Jarrett Stidham in shorts and a t-shirt or even in shells, he looks like he just left the Sigma Chi house. He’s not (physically imposing). Neither is Tom Brady. Neither is Matt Ryan. Neither is Aaron Rogers.

“There is just something about the way he throws the ball – the velocity of the ball, the spin of the ball. It’s a catchable ball and it looks like he’s not even trying. That plays into his accuracy, because he’s not having to overdo it with his body. The more you strain to throw, the more propensity you have to be inaccurate.”

Stan White sees those things, too. He also sees Stidham’s ability to recognize what he sees and quickly know what to do.

“What I have seen from over the last several months is that he is a great decision-maker,” Stan White said. “He’s a quick decision-maker, and that gets overlooked a lot of times. He seems to be able to decipher things really, quickly and that’s what you want.

Stan White is Auburn all-time leading career passer. (Photo: Getty)

Stidham will go into the season with high expectations, perhaps higher even than Cam Newtonexperienced in August of 2010. He’ll be severely tested, and it won’t take long. The Tigers go on the road to play defending national champion Clemson in the season’s second game.

Leard says the expectations shouldn’t get out of control, that there will be a learning curve. But he says that doesn’t mean the expectations shouldn’t be high.

“He’s the starting quarterback for Auburn University,” Leard said. “He has high expectations, but let’s not automatically think he’s going to be Cam or Nick Marshall. Jarrett has a unique talent set he’s been blessed with. He will be successful. Whether it’s 100 percent successful or off-the-chart successful, we’ll find out. What is known right now is that he is QB1, and he should have everybody’s support.”

That support, Leard said, is crucial, more crucial than some might want to believe.

“It’s huge,” Leard said. “As much as a player or coach might try to downplay that and say they don’t hear the white noise, the background noise, I’m telling you they do.

“It is virtually impossible to remove yourself from all the noise. You can pull your Twitter account and not get on social media. That’s all fine and good, but you still have the outside noise. You still have the things that may be creeping in. A teammate may tell you about it. Who is to say that background noise doesn’t infiltrate your teammates and they start believing it?”

Stidham, Stan White said, should be a very good fit for first-year coordinator Chip Lindsey’s offense, one expected to provide more opportunities to put the ball in the air.

“He has a really good arm,” Stan White said. “There’s no doubt. Any quarterback that plays in this conference is going to have a really good arm. I think Chip will add some more balance to the passing game – getting it out on the edge and also being able to stretch the field.”

[aushrink 22]

QB1. 

 

I all in for #8. 

[kd4au 1,145]

Can't wait to see this guy play.

[AUpreacherman22 3,876]

8 hours ago, WFE12 said:

Stan White sees those things, too. He also sees Stidham’s ability to recognize what he sees and quickly know what to do

Translation: He makes the right decision quickly and then executes!   Some were concerned about this because of some jackwagon on bleacher report.  

No worries fam. Stidham is gonna be a good one. Our Offense will be balanced and very good. Our Defense will be deep and talented.  We have the best kicker in America.  2017 is gonna be a fun one!!!

[Tiger 8,818]

I am as pumped as anyone but I'm also keeping in mind that this kid is essentially a hyper-mature freshman. I hope this board doesn't implode all over itself if he doesn't look like an all-star right out of the gate. He's going to need some time to shake the rust off and his in-game experience was such a long time ago -- and so limited -- that I'm expecting him to not hit his stride for at least a few weeks into the season.

[SCBusPilot 72]

57 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I am as pumped as anyone but I'm also keeping in mind that this kid is essentially a hyper-mature freshman. I hope this board doesn't implode all over itself if he doesn't look like an all-star right out of the gate. He's going to need some time to shake the rust off and his in-game experience was such a long time ago -- and so limited -- that I'm expecting him to not hit his stride for at least a few weeks into the season.

Agreed - much like Cam in 2010. It took him a few games too. 

[fredst 9,064]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

I am as pumped as anyone but I'm also keeping in mind that this kid is essentially a hyper-mature freshman. I hope this board doesn't implode all over itself if he doesn't look like an all-star right out of the gate. He's going to need some time to shake the rust off and his in-game experience was such a long time ago -- and so limited -- that I'm expecting him to not hit his stride for at least a few weeks into the season.

Agree but I'm really hoping he hits his stride about week 2

[Tiger 8,818]

2 minutes ago, fredst said:

Agree but I'm really hoping he hits his stride about week 2

We may need the best QB performance we've had since Nick Marshall was here to beat those guys on the road at night against that defense.

[Barnacle 9,064]

8 minutes ago, Tiger said:

We may need the best QB performance we've had since Nick Marshall was here to beat those guys on the road at night against that defense.

I'm more concerned about the night our receivers are going to have. That's not saying that I'm that concerned. I just have a lot of confidence that Stidham is going to go out there and do his job. We can't have one of those nights where we've got receivers dropping touchdown passes and 3rd down conversions. We will have chances on big plays. I'm sure of it. Just have to capitalize on them. Running game will be what it is. 

 

[AidiAU 1,270]

21 minutes ago, SCBusPilot said:

Agreed - much like Cam in 2010. It took him a few games too. 

I remember watching him from my couch in Tx - even during the first few games I was SO excited for our new QB.

19 minutes ago, fredst said:

Agree but I'm really hoping he hits his stride about week 2

Aren't we all....??

[DAG 33,955]

I am hoping with the addition of CCL, the delay won't be the case. I felt some of our QB performance have been hindered by conservative play calling early on..best way to get these guys to hit their stride is to be aggressive and let them make mistakes because they will. See how they respond.

[Barnacle 9,064]

33 minutes ago, SCBusPilot said:

Agreed - much like Cam in 2010. It took him a few games too. 

I always felt like it took the coaches more time to adjust than it did for Cam. Go watch the play calling during our first series against Mississippi State in 2010. On 3rd and 1 we line up under center and hand off a dive to the FB. 4th and 1 we line up under center again and run a play action pass that Cam saves by scrambling for a first down. Its unconscionable considering what we found out during the South Carolina game. Inside zone, inside zone, inside zone all day baby. 

Timestamp at 6:37 by the way, if it doesn't work. 

[DAG 33,955]

Just now, Barnacle said:

I always felt like it took the coaches more time to adjust than it did for Cam. Go watch the play calling during our first series against Mississippi State in 2010. On 3rd and 1 we line up under center and hand off a dive to the FB. 4th and 1 we line up under center again and run a play action pass that Cam saves by scrambling for a first down. 

 

we literally just posted the same message.

[Barnacle 9,064]

3 minutes ago, DAG said:

we literally just posted the same message.

Yeah, I mean it blows my mind. Once the light went on during the SC game, there was no turning back. We would have smoked Miss State. Clemson probably would have been a close game, but we would have won it in the 4th quarter and not in overtime. 

And, I don't even know that their play calling was "conservative". Running Cam inside was probably the most conservative thing we could do. It just so happened that it was also the most productive thing we could do. 

[DAG 33,955]

Just now, Barnacle said:

Yeah, I mean it blows my mind. Once the light went on during the SC game, there was no turning back. We would have smoked Miss State. Clemson probably would have been a close game, but we would have won it in the 4th quarter and not in overtime. 

And, I don't even know that their play calling was "conservative". Running Cam inside was probably the most conservative thing we could do. It just so happened that it was also the most productive thing we could do. 

I was speaking more in general terms. But I WOULDN'T consider anything with CN in control to be conservative. 

Not conservative.

 

However, stopping SW from throwing on 1st downs after one interception against Miss.State..

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, DAG said:

 However, stopping SW from throwing on 1st downs after one interception against Miss.State..

I was STEAMING from the upper deck in that football game because of this. I think he opened it back up in the 4th quarter and what do you know? We started moving the ball. Crazy. 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

17 minutes ago, DAG said:

I am hoping with the addition of CCL, the delay won't be the case. I felt some of our QB performance have been hindered by conservative play calling early on..best way to get these guys to hit their stride is to be aggressive and let them make mistakes because they will. See how they respond.

 Beginning with Georgia Southern. 

[DAG 33,955]

3 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

 Beginning with Georgia Southern. 

Yeep

[JFDTiger80 790]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

I am as pumped as anyone but I'm also keeping in mind that this kid is essentially a hyper-mature freshman. I hope this board doesn't implode all over itself if he doesn't look like an all-star right out of the gate. He's going to need some time to shake the rust off and his in-game experience was such a long time ago -- and so limited -- that I'm expecting him to not hit his stride for at least a few weeks into the season.

Tiger, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I could see calling him a rather experienced Sophomore; not a Hyper Mature Freshman. Stidham started 5 games as a true freshman. Not many freshman can do this. Most freshman get a redshirt year, because they need it. Our guy started 5 games. Most sophomre QB's haven't played  as many college games as Stidham has already. 

This being said, you can always find a few that have more experience......but the vast majority do not. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, JFDTiger80 said:

Tiger, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I could see calling him a rather experienced Sophomore; not a Hyper Mature Freshman. Stidham started 5 games as a true freshman. Not many freshman can do this. Most freshman get a redshirt year, because they need it. Our guy started 5 games. Most sophomre QB's haven't played  as many college games as Stidham has already. 

This being said, you can always find a few that have more experience......but the vast majority do not. 

Honestly, I think some people (not talking to you Tiger) have made too big a deal out of him not having taken a snap in over a year, etc. He played in some big games as a freshman. Certainly, he will play in some bigger games this season - starting week 2. But, he's felt the pressure before. He'll need to get the nerves out after the first snap or two like everyone else, but after that it ought to be like riding a bike. You never really forget how to do it. 

[Tiger 8,818]

6 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said:

Tiger, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I could see calling him a rather experienced Sophomore; not a Hyper Mature Freshman. Stidham started 5 games as a true freshman. Not many freshman can do this. Most freshman get a redshirt year, because they need it. Our guy started 5 games. Most sophomre QB's haven't played  as many college games as Stidham has already. 

This being said, you can always find a few that have more experience......but the vast majority do not. 

I understand and respect your view on this. But I thought it was 3 games -- similar to Jeremy Johnson's experience. Not saying he will be like JJ but maybe I'm just extra cautious after that meltdown.  

But to be fair Stidz was thrown in as starter at Baylor after a rash of injuries if I recall correctly, he did not take the job. You make a good point that he actually has played in games and most sophomore QBs have not even done that. I'm hoping this will come in handy for him. 

The good thing is that at his age there should be less of a chance of him being overwhelmed after making a mistake, and while there are things we have been told about him that give me confidence about him as our QB, his experience, personally, is not one of those things. Do I prefer his experience to SW's experience in 2015? Absolutely. But JS's experience was such a long time ago I'm prepared to give him some time to find his groove. 

[corchjay 5,311]

1 hour ago, Barnacle said:

I always felt like it took the coaches more time to adjust than it did for Cam. Go watch the play calling during our first series against Mississippi State in 2010. On 3rd and 1 we line up under center and hand off a dive to the FB. 4th and 1 we line up under center again and run a play action pass that Cam saves by scrambling for a first down. Its unconscionable considering what we found out during the South Carolina game. Inside zone, inside zone, inside zone all day baby. 

Timestamp at 6:37 by the way, if it doesn't work. 

Those frickin cowbells... almost impossible to watch a game there.  

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, corchjay said:

Those frickin cowbells... almost impossible to watch a game there.  

Ha! No kidding. I was at that game. My roommate at the time was an MSU grad. He had an extra ticket in their club section - or whatever it was, so he invited me on the condition that I couldn't wear orange or blue and I couldn't be "obnoxious." Fine. I wore a neutral shirt, and was as polite as I could be. Great game. Fairley's coming out party much more so than Cam. MSU played us well. We easily could have lost that game. But, had we run the same offense that we ran from South Carolina forward, we would have won by two touchdowns. 

[Tiger 8,818]

Whoa, that 2010 Western Divison every single team ended up ranked in the TOP 15 (!!!) except for Ole Miss. 

I looked that up because I was going to reply to @Barnacle by saying only 2 TDs??? But man the division was stacked that year and we still brought the brooms out on the whole West. I am hoping we capture that kind of success again in the next year or 2 because boy we certainly have a lot of talent

[WDEKC 187]

57 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I understand and respect your view on this. But I thought it was 3 games -- similar to Jeremy Johnson's experience. Not saying he will be like JJ but maybe I'm just extra cautious after that meltdown.  

But to be fair Stidz was thrown in as starter at Baylor after a rash of injuries if I recall correctly, he did not take the job. You make a good point that he actually has played in games and most sophomore QBs have not even done that. I'm hoping this will come in handy for him. 

The good thing is that at his age there should be less of a chance of him being overwhelmed after making a mistake, and while there are things we have been told about him that give me confidence about him as our QB, his experience, personally, is not one of those things. Do I prefer his experience to SW's experience in 2015? Absolutely. But JS's experience was such a long time ago I'm prepared to give him some time to find his groove. 

Uhhhh....JJ was a Junior when he took over as THE starter. So, how are you using him as a similarity to what you described as a hyper mature freshman? JJ also only had 1 half of meaningful football. Stidham had nearly 10 times that.