Auburn QB Sean White to miss spring practice, opening opportunity for Jarrett Stidham
New Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham will have ample opportunity to make an impression during spring practice.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday, via AuburnSports.com, that returning quarterback Sean White would likely miss the entirety of spring practice. The announcement isn’t too much of a surprise; White suffered a broken right forearm during Auburn’s Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma and played the first half with the injury. Without him, the Tigers’ offense sputtered.
The broken arm was the second major injury White suffered during 2016. He injured his right (throwing) shoulder in Auburn’s 13-7 loss to Georgia in November. The loss meant Auburn relinquished any hope of beating out Alabama for the SEC West title. White said he didn’t tell coaches how badly his shoulder was injured in the loss even as he struggled, completing 6 of his 20 pass attempts.
Stidham transferred from Baylor over the summer following the departure of coach Art Briles and the tumult of the sexual assault scandal at the university. He sat out the 2016 season and committed to Auburn in December. He’ll be immediately eligible to play in 2017 and, with a strong spring, could surpass White for the starting quarterback job.
Stidham became Baylor’s starter after Seth Russell was injured in 2015, though Stidham suffered a season-ending injury himself vs. Oklahoma State. He finished the season 75-109 passing for 1,265 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions.
White is expected to be ready for summer workouts, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see Auburn’s quarterback competition still open after spring practice. And that’s reasonable, White has been a productive quarterback when healthy.
In addition to saying White would miss the spring, Malzahn said safety Markell Boston and Stephen Davis Jr. are no longer members of the team. Davis, the son of former Auburn and NFL running back Stephen Davis, was a member of Auburn’s 2016 recruiting class. But after starting to practice with running backs in the summer, he ended up missing the season because of a knee injury that happened in high school.
For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
