From the moment Jarrett Stidham elected to transfer to Auburn, the speculation has been that the former Baylor signal-caller would be the starter for the 2017 season. However, Gus Malzahn isn't quite ready to announce that Stidham has the job and he said as much at SEC Media Days.
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"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. That's a great security blanket coming forward this season."
The second guy Malzahn refers to is veteran Sean White, and the head coach went on to describe him in this way.
"We were on a six-game win streak, and Sean White was leading our league in completion percentage and quarterback efficiency. If he hadn't got hurt, it would be completely different, I believe. The disappointment, we had a real chance. Key injuries late, we weren't able to really seize the moment, that's the disappointment that probably our players and our fans feel."
Malzahn isn't breaking any new ground by waiting to announce a starter, especially given the fact that White has been around for a long time. Giving him a chance to win the job, at least on the surface, is probably the right move but when and if Auburn announces that Stidham is "the guy" moving forward, there will be a lot of sentiment as to whether Malzahn was ever seriously considering another route.
Until then, we wait.
