Jarrett Stidham's second and final year on The Plains will be loaded with anticipation among Auburn fans and fans of college football across the country.
Sitting at 12th in Vegas Insider's preseason Heisman odds, the redshirt junior quarterback was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list for the second straight year, the organization announced Monday morning.
The Maxwell Award, gifted last season to Heisman trophy winner Baker Mayfield, is awarded to the nation's top college football player. The preseason watch list encompasses 85 FBS players. The past four winners (Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Marcus Mariota) all went on to claim the Heisman trophy as well. The last Auburn player to win the award was Cam Newton in 2010.
As the offensive maestro of Auburn's 2017 SEC West-winning team, Stidham passed for 3,158 yards — the second 3,000-yard season in program history — with 18 touchdowns and six INTs, and began to find his niche as a dual-threat quarterback late in the season with four rushing touchdowns and 153 yards on the ground.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell will be unveiled Oct. 29 and the trio of finalists will be determined Nov. 19. Stidham and the Tigers will begin their 2018 season at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Washington in Atlanta on Sept. 1. Stidham will join Dontavius Russell and Deshaun Davis as Auburn's student-athlete ambassadors at the 2018 SEC Media Days this Thursday in Atlanta.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
