Jarrett Stidham officially named starting quarterback at Auburn

What we all assumed is now official: Jarrett Stidham will start at quarterback for Auburn.

Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn informed the team of the decision to start Stidham, a transfer from Baylor, on Monday.

Amid the turmoil that led to the ouster of Art Briles at Baylor, Stidham opted to transfer from the program last summer. He took classes at a community college in Waco but did not play football in 2016. In December, he announced that he would continue his career at Auburn.

Stidham enrolled at Auburn in January and impressed during spring practice. He saw extensive action with Sean White, the team’s main starter the past two seasons, limited because of the broken forearm he suffered in the Sugar Bowl. In the Tigers’ spring game, Stidham completed 16-of-20 passes for 267 yards and also rushed for a touchdown.

At SEC Media Days, Malzahn admitted quarterback has been an “Achilles heel” for the Tigers over the past few years. With Stidham as the starter and an experienced player like White as his backup, the team now has really nice depth at the position.

“Probably the thing that I’m most excited about is we have quality depth and our quarterback position,” Malzahn said. “And that’s been our Achilles’ heel the last two years. That gives me, I know our coaches and our players, comfort.

“Jarrett Stidham is a very talented young man. What he’s done since he’s been at Auburn, just his leadership. He’s really done a good job trying to win over his teammates and his work ethic. I’m very excited about Sean White. When Sean White’s healthy, he plays at an extremely high level. Last year when we got on that roll, that 6-game win streak, he was leading the league in completions and quarterback efficiency.”

Stidham was a top 100 recruit and quickly moved to No. 2 on Baylor’s depth chart as a true freshman in 2015. After Seth Russell went down with a neck injury, Stidham stepped in and was impressive in three games as the Bears’ starter before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Oklahoma State. Overall in 2015, Stidham appeared in 10 games and threw for 1,265 yards, 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

After reaching the national title game in 2013, Malzahn’s first season, the Tigers went 8-5 in 2014, 7-6 in 2015 and 8-5 in 2016. At SEC Media Days, Malzahn compared the 2017 squad to the stellar 2013 national runner-up.

“Probably the biggest thing that’s standing out to me about this team is that they’re hungry. They’re hungry and they’ve got something to prove. And really the last time I felt this was 2013. That’s a good comfort for me,” Malzahn said.

“We’ve got a challenging schedule. We’ve got some great teams in our league. We play the defending national champions on the road week two. But I really like where we’re at. And just got that feeling where there’s a lot of excitement around our complex, not just with our coaches, but our players. And we’re really looking forward to the season.”

The Tigers open the season against Georgia Southern at home on Sept. 2 before a trip to Clemson on Sept. 9.

For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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