Let’s take a breath before naming Stidham as Auburn’s savior

Let’s start with the obvious. Jarrett Stidham is not Cam Newton.

And he never will be, not even metaphorically.

There never will be another Cam Newton, just as there will never be another Bo Jackson. The word ‘special’ gets tossed around too loosely in sport. But if anyone ever deserved such a label, it would be those two Auburn legends.

For that matter, Stidham isn’t even the next Nick Marshall. Never mind pumping the brakes on any such hyperbole. Don’t even board that bus.

After Stidham, who began his college career at Baylor in 2015, announced he will sign with Auburn, one website, SECcountry.com, immediately proclaimed him the best quarterback in the SEC for 2017. Are Alabama’s Jalen Hurts and Georgia’s Jacob Eason transferring? Both should show considerable improvement next season as sophomores.

ESPN.com ran this headline: “Jarrett Stidham turns Auburn into a playoff contender for 2017”

Whoa-whoa-WHOA.

Did we not learn anything from anointing Jeremy Johnson a Heisman contender before he played a meaningful game? By meaningful, I don’t mean one amazing half against a very poor (at the time) Arkansas defense. I’m not bashing Johnson. He never proclaimed himself a Heisman candidate. Johnson didn’t make the unwise decision to be trotted out to the media at 2015 SEC Media Days. Blame us in the media for the false hype. Hand raised here. I thought Johnson would be great. Blame Auburn coach Gus Malzahn for encouraging the unrealistic hype.

Here was SI.com’s headline back then: “Auburn football’s Jeremy Johnson key to magical season”

See the parallel here?

Mind you, Stidham might represent a significant upgrade at quarterback for the Tigers next season. His verbal commitment is a boost to the program.

In fact, it might prove to be more than just a boost. Stidham might be every bit as good as advertised and win the starting job, go on to make All-SEC and then some. Or he might struggle to adapt to SEC defenses – especially pass rushers – and find out the hard way what Sean White already knows. That is, playing quarterback in the SEC isn’t for the fainthearted.

Sure, Stidham played well in his three starts for Baylor when he replaced Seth Russell. Two of the three opponents were quality teams. Kansas State, the first team he started against, finished 6-7.But Oklahoma made the College Football Playoff but lost to Clemson. Oklahoma State was 10-0 going into the game against Baylor. His stats for the three starts were very respectable: 51 completions in 81 attempts (62.96 percent) with six touchdowns and two interceptions.

But …

A) three games is a small sample size; and

B) the Big 12 is not the SEC defensively, not even close.

Say what you will about this being a down year for the SEC. When the NFL draft rolls around in April, we will see once again that it’s the most talent-rich conference in college football. The biggest difference is the quality of pass rushers.

When Kirby Hocutt, the CFP Selection Committee Chairman, was asked why Penn State was ranked ahead of Oklahoma, Hocutt without hesitation replied, “Defense.” Keep in mind, Hocutt is athletics director at Texas Tech and played linebacker at Kansas State.

There is a video online of Stidham’s first college pass, which went for a 42-yard touchdown. It was a beautifully thrown ball put right into the receiver’s hands. The defensive player, though, was a good seven yards behind the receiver. Most college quarterbacks could have, and probably would have, made that throw.

The first thing Stidham has to do is beat out Sean White. He probably will, but that’s no given. Before he suffered a shoulder injury, White was becoming a reliable passer. His passer rating of 146.9 is fourth best in the SEC, only a fraction of a point behind Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen. This was White’s first full season as a starter, so he, too, should improve next season.

The biggest advantage Stidham has over White is his size. At 6-foot-3, he’s a good three inches taller than White. He’s a better runner, mainly because his size makes him more durable.

If Stidham becomes an instant star or even develops into an All-SEC quarterback, then great. I hope so because I like to see young people succeed, and it’s fun to watch great players. But let’s give him a little time before we shower him with expectations.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Let’s take a breath before naming Stidham as Auburn’s savior."