spring practice primer: Quarterback

[aubiefifty 16,755]

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Auburn spring practice primer: Quarterback | Football

Josh Vitale | AU Writer Follow on Twitter Like on Facebook

6-8 minutes

Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham prepares to throw a pass against Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, in Auburn, Ala.

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Auburn’s 2017 season ended on Jan. 1 and National Signing Day has come and gone. Now, it’s time to look ahead to 2018.

The Tigers open spring practice on March 1. In the days leading up to their return to the field, we’re going to break down the roster position by position.

Up first: Quarterback.

Lost: N/A

Returning: Jarrett Stidham (Jr.), Malik Willis (So.)

Newcomers: Joey Gatewood

Coming in the fall: N/A

OUTLOOK

The quarterback position at Auburn has undergone quite an overhaul since this time last year, when Stidham and Willis were the two newcomers. None of the returning players at the position last spring — Sean White, John Franklin III, Tyler Queen and Woody Barrett — made it through September, which is when White was dismissed following an arrest. The Tigers appear to be in a much better position there, too. Despite there being fewer bodies, there appears to be much more talent and promise. Stidham, the returning starter, turned in the second 3,000-yard passing season in program history last season for a team that ranked 65th nationally in passing yards per game after ranking worse than 110th in each of the two previous seasons. Willis flashed tremendous upside during his brief relief stints, and Gatewood is a four-star early enrollee who coach Gus Malzahn described as, "is the closest thing to Cam Newton physically that I've seen.”

LEADER

Stidham: Only two quarterbacks in program history have thrown for more than 3,000 yards in a single season, and only one — Stidham — returned the following season (Dameyune Craig passed for 3,277 yards as a senior in 1997). Stidham had underwent minor left shoulder surgery in January and will not be ready to start spring practice — Malzahn expects him back after spring break — but even with the late start, Stidham should be the face of the Tiger offense. The former Baylor transfer completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns during his first season on the Plains, and while he struggled with turnovers late in the year, should be capable of building on his success with a year of experience playing in offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey’s system under his belt. Auburn may lean on him even more given the lack of experience returning at running back.

NAME TO WATCH

Willis: Stidham will be sidelined for the early part of this spring and Gatewood has taken Willis’ place as the highly touted newcomer on campus, but Willis did nothing but impress last season and will be the player to watch while Stidham works his non-throwing shoulder back to full strength. The Atlanta native completed 6 of 7 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown over parts of seven games last year to go along with 221 rushing yards and an additional score on 16 carries. Gatewood got the Newton comp for his physical traits, but before that happened, Willis drew comparisons to Nick Marshall and has done nothing to dispel the parallel so far.

THEY SAID IT

“Quarterback wise, there’s always room for improvement. Mentally, physically, just understanding football more. Fundamentals, going back to fundamentals in the offseason. It’s all part of being a quarterback. That’s why Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady — that’s why they are the great ones, because they study the game a lot and really focus on their fundamentals. I really got to get back to that.” — Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham after the Peach Bowl

[doc4aday 1,887]

I cannot recall in recent memory where we had this much talent at the QB position at one time. Adding Bo Nix in 2019 will only make it light years stronger than even in 2018. I think we may have the best QB's in the SEC talent wise and depth. I hope we can find ways to get Willis in more often for a variety of plays. I would guess we will red-shirt Gatewood and look forward to seeing him play. Gus has done a super job upgrading the QB position since 2016 and should be given kudos for this.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

I'm not quite sure what Willis did last year that was so impressive. A few long runs against tired defenses doesn't merit this kind of hype.

[toddc 13,194]

He looked great in last year spring game!

[DAG 33,976]

Boy we know how to tear our own down haha

[AUIH1 1,515]

14 minutes ago, DAG said:

Boy we know how to tear our own down haha

But it is true that Willis did nothing that impressive last year primarily because he (like any RB) hardly ever meaningful playing time.  Gatewood by most who are objective is still considered a work in progress (which means he means coaching and that is not a good thing considering our coaching staff).  Bo Nix is our next best hope.  He seems to have been subjected to good coaching in HS.

wde

[SumterAubie 3,031]

23 minutes ago, DAG said:

Boy we know how to tear our own down haha

Tearing down the writer of the piece? Yes.

[DAG 33,976]

8 minutes ago, AUIH1 said:

But it is true that Willis did nothing that impressive last year primarily because he (like any RB) hardly ever meaningful playing time.  Gatewood by most who are objective is still considered a work in progress (which means he means coaching and that is not a good thing considering our coaching staff).  Bo Nix is our next best hope.  He seems to have been subjected to good coaching in HS.

wde

Bo nix is not even a senior yet in highschool and he is our next best hope? And you are saying MW is living off hype? 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

5 minutes ago, DAG said:

Bo nix is not even a senior yet in highschool and he is our next best hope? And you are saying MW is living off hype? 

Right. Saying Nix is our next great hope is a bit much.

[AUIH1 1,515]

6 minutes ago, DAG said:

Bo nix is not even a senior yet in highschool and he is our next best hope? And you are saying MW is living off hype? 

MW is not doing anything wrong but is limited as a QB. I watched him a lot in HS and his limited action last season proved nothing in terms of being the next Nick Marshall or Cam Newton who some want to compare him too and what his game is most close to.  Bo Nix is the best QB we have in the system right now after Stidham.  Gatewood has tons of potential but needs a lot of coaching that I am uncertain he will receive at AU unless he is the next Cam.  Willis is not the next Cam and I don't expect him to be.  But Willis has far more limitations in my opinion than Gatewood, Nix and of course Stidham to play QB successfully in the SEC.

wde

[DAG 33,976]

40 minutes ago, AUIH1 said:

MW is not doing anything wrong but is limited as a QB. I watched him a lot in HS and his limited action last season proved nothing in terms of being the next Nick Marshall or Cam Newton who some want to compare him too and what his game is most close to.  Bo Nix is the best QB we have in the system right now after Stidham.  Gatewood has tons of potential but needs a lot of coaching that I am uncertain he will receive at AU unless he is the next Cam.  Willis is not the next Cam and I don't expect him to be.  But Willis has far more limitations in my opinion than Gatewood, Nix and of course Stidham to play QB successfully in the SEC.

wde

I think Bo Nix is going to be a great addition to AU, but even the insiders have said he will have to get much bigger and adapt to the game speed at the next level . There will always be comparisons. Joey Gatewood has been compared to Cam Newton by Gus himself in terms of looks. MW has the same comparison to NM. That is not saying he will play like NM. I am super excited to see what Bo becomes but let him at least complete his senior year and get on campus before we overlook MW and JG for him. Quite frankly , I hope MW and JG does pan out because I would not be the least bit surprise if Bo Nix has to RS and spend some time growing as a QB at the next level. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

The little we've seen MW, he DOES run a lot like NM with the dynamic speed and ability to move laterally & juke.  He has shown, last Spring and a handful of times, he can pass well too.  With experience, maturity, & coaching  , if he is a good decision maker, I believe he could easily lead a 2013 style of AU offense once JS is gone.  Adding that additional true running threat reading off the DE would add such a great dimension back to this offense.  Frankly, that would be my choice (at this time, with what we know).

However, if AU breaks out of it's recent mold and lights it up with Stidham (edit: consistently), then I can easily see Bo Nix being the next big thing.  Either way, the film I've seen of Gatewood, seems like a "project" who happens to have great tools.  I'm sure he's capable, but I can't project what type QB he'd actually be, as of yet.  He reminds me of JJ, which ain't a BAD thing... Just, he ain't Cam, like some suggest.

Just my 2 cents; you're welcome to yours.

War Eagle.

 

[WFE12 9,191]

Neither of the 3 seem like cats that will up and transfer because of competition so this shall be interesting. Is either one gonna be good enough leave after two years?...Who knows?

[Gowebb11 9,314]

17 hours ago, SumterAubie said:

I'm not quite sure what Willis did last year that was so impressive. A few long runs against tired defenses doesn't merit this kind of hype.

He hasn’t had the opportunity to accumulate a lot of stats, but it is clear that him and Gatewood have excellent size, speed, strength, and athleticism. Most of us would have killed to have had that caliber athlete as a backup (or starter) in 2012. 

[Zeek 16,649]

15 hours ago, DAG said:

Boy we know how to tear our own down haha

Only took two replies! 

[DAG 33,976]

3 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

He hasn’t had the opportunity to accumulate a lot of stats, but it is clear that him and Gatewood have excellent size, speed, strength, and athleticism. Most of us would have killed to have had that caliber athlete as a backup (or starter) in 2012. 

This is what excites me. Now we seem to have quality back ups to look forward to. At one point we were all pissed that we didn’t have one back up plan, now we have 3 deep talent it looks like. 

[I_M4_AU 7,796]

2 minutes ago, DAG said:

This is what excites me. Now we seem to have quality back ups to look forward to. At one point we were all pissed that we didn’t have one back up plan, now we have 3 deep talent it looks like. 

Love the QB hype, it happens every year.  The fact remains; Gus hasn’t developed a QB straight out of HS since he has been coaching at Auburn.  I’ll just sit back and see how the 2018 season unfolds with regard to QBs.

[DAG 33,976]

16 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Love the QB hype, it happens every year.  The fact remains; Gus hasn’t developed a QB straight out of HS since he has been coaching at Auburn.  I’ll just sit back and see how the 2018 season unfolds with regard to QBs.

This is why we hired CCL, no?

[SumterAubie 3,031]

21 hours ago, SumterAubie said:

I'm not quite sure what Willis did last year that was so impressive. A few long runs against tired defenses doesn't merit this kind of hype.

 

4 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

He hasn’t had the opportunity to accumulate a lot of stats, but it is clear that him and Gatewood have excellent size, speed, strength, and athleticism. Most of us would have killed to have had that caliber athlete as a backup (or starter) in 2012. 

I agree the potential is there with Willis, but the same adjectives were applied to Jeremy Johnson.

My original post really had nothing against Willis but against the writer of the piece.  

[I_M4_AU 7,796]

2 hours ago, DAG said:

This is why we hired CCL, no?

We shall see, time will tell.

ETA: IIRC, at the beginning of last season CCL said he was putting a premium on having qualified backup QBs after what he went through as ASU.  That plan must have changed.  If was fortunate we didn’t need a backup.

[DAG 33,976]

17 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

We shall see, time will tell.

ETA: IIRC, at the beginning of last season CCL said he was putting a premium on having qualified backup QBs after what he went through as ASU.  That plan must have changed.  If was fortunate we didn’t need a backup.

That’s why he went after MW. He specifically hand picked MW , who was set to go to Virginia tech and I think people will see he is more than capable of being a quality back up if giving the opportunity. 

[I_M4_AU 7,796]

5 minutes ago, DAG said:

That’s why he went after MW. He specifically hand picked MW , who was set to go to Virginia tech and I think people will see he is more than capable of being a quality back up if giving the opportunity. 

I agree, I wanted MW ready to backup Stidham for the Clemson game as SW was suspended.  That was my concern, Gus wanted to RS MW even though we had no scholarship QB as a backup.  At that point Gus didn’t trust CCL, I hope it has changed.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

How do we really know who we have behind Jarrett? Gus didn't give the backup QB's much playing time. I think it's still a strong question mark on who'll be the best #2 QB's against Washington.

[Zeek 16,649]

6 hours ago, I_M4_AU said:

Love the QB hype, it happens every year.  The fact remains; Gus hasn’t developed a QB straight out of HS since he has been coaching at Auburn.  I’ll just sit back and see how the 2018 season unfolds with regard to QBs.

Any good 2020 JUCO prospects

[Mikey 16,576]

9 hours ago, I_M4_AU said:

I agree, I wanted MW ready to backup Stidham for the Clemson game as SW was suspended.  That was my concern, Gus wanted to RS MW even though we had no scholarship QB as a backup.  At that point Gus didn’t trust CCL, I hope it has changed.

At the time of the Clemson game, Willis wasn't ready to play. His first time out wasn't impressive either. It took a little time for him to develop. Where you got the idea that Gus wanted to redshirt him after White was dismissed, I don't know.