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A spirit that is not afraid

'Coach on the field': QB Jarrett Stidham embracing leadership responsibilities, offensive freedom

“We were one quarter away. It’s just the way it was. I think the team has just bought in a little bit more"

<p>Jarrett Stidham answers a question during an interview at SEC Media Days in the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, July 19, 2018 in Atlanta, Ga.</p>

Jarrett Stidham answers a question during an interview at SEC Media Days in the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, July 19, 2018 in Atlanta, Ga.

The end of the 2017 season was a disappointment for Auburn after vaulting up the standings to the No. 2 team in the country, then dropping its final two games season to end on a sour note.

The bad taste left in the players' mouths was one of the few factors that led to quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s decision to return for a final year.

“I feel like there is a lot of unfinished business for me,” he said back in January. “This year, we were really close to being where we wanted to be as a team. I didn’t like that taste in my mouth. I want to come back and finish what we started.”

Motivated to get back to where they were last season and finish what they started, the Tigers instilled a motto for the team to rally around: “Ring the bell.” Simple, yet it goes deeper than just the three short words.

“We were one quarter away. It’s just the way it was," Stidham said Thursday at SEC Media Days. "I think the team has just bought in a little bit more. Our motto this year is ‘Ring the bell’ and to most people it doesn’t make any sense, but in our weight room we have this big bell in the middle of the weight room and every time you hit a [personal record], whether it’s for 40, bench, squat, whatever it is, you get to ring the bell. So, that is your personal best and you continue to work towards your personal best. That’s kind of how our motto is and that’s kind of the approach we’re taking into the season.”

That being said, the thoughts of the incredible late-season turnaround but faltering in the postseason lingered, giving Auburn's offseason approach more emotion with everyone buying in, thus providing a better overall product.

“The offseason was great. In my opinion, it was better than last year," Stidham said. "Everybody has bought in a little more… not that we weren’t last year, but you could just sense a different attitude this offseason, throughout the spring and really throughout the summer. They’ve been working us really hard this summer, so everybody has really bought in and we are really looking forward to this year.”

Stidham, specifically, has had a spring where he has been given more responsibility with the offense regarding checking plays at the line and has the full confidence of head coach Gus Malzahn.

“You know, he's back for a second year, and he understands our offense very good," Malzahn said Thursday in Atlanta. "He understands Coach Lindsey's expectation. He's like a coach on the field. And towards the end of the year, they were thinking the same, talking the same. So, going into this year, he's going to have freedom to get us in the right play, to check us out of a bad play. We have a lot of confidence in him, and really looking forward to him leading our offense.”

Being just the second starting quarterback to return in the last nine years at Auburn, Stidham has experience seeing the field more than QBs in years past.

“I’m extremely excited about it," Stidham said of his newfound freedom under center. "They promised me, ‘Hey you’re going to have more freedom at the line,’ and looking at it last year, most of the time when we were having check plays, 99 percent of the time I knew what we were doing, I knew what they were looking at in the box. 

"So, I think playing for a year and have experience, I just know a little bit more football this year. I know what to expect, I know the coaches are looking for and so I’m just really anxious to get out there and have more control this fall camp and moving into the season and give a new dynamic to the offense.”

The second-year starter has seen a lot of improvement in the offense and believes with returning all the starting receivers from last season, they have a chance to be better than 2017.

“I really do believe we are going to be just as good, if not better," Stidham said. "Obviously, I’m back for my second year and I think when we have five receivers coming back – Ryan Davis, Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Meyers, Will Hastings and Eli Stove – I think with those six parts right there, I think we got a lot of talent, we got a lot of experience, which is really good and kind of crucial in this league.”

The loss to Georgia and UCF will be on this team’s mind all offseason but the Tigers know that they must not dwell on it and use it as motivation come kickoff in 2018.

“We’ve been using it as motivation, but it’s in the past. We’re looking forward to playing Washington in week one and getting ready for this season.”

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