As expected, Auburn officially announced Jarrett Stidham as its starting quarterback Monday, with hopes that the pivot can finally provide some consistent production for the Tigers behind center.
While Stidham impressed in camp, the former Baylor quarterback is still very inexperienced. The sophomore only started three games for the Bears, has attempted just over 100 passes in his collegiate career, and hasn't played a snap since 2015. Even if Stidham is the best option for Auburn, he may still face a steep learning curve against SEC competition.
And he won't be the only quarterback in the conference dealing with that challenge.
In fact, the SEC as a whole will be very inexperienced behind center in 2017, with several young quarterbacks set for a crash course against some of the nation's toughest teams.
Florida's in a similar situation to Auburn when it comes to Malik Zaire, as even though the transfer is a senior, he's even more inexperienced than Stidham. Meanwhile, Tennessee will be trying to replace Josh Dobbs with either Quinten Dormady or Jarrett Guarantano, who've combined for just 39 pass attempts between them.
Texas A&M is also in the midst of a quarterback battle that includes Jake Hubenak, Kellen Mond, and the suddenly surging Nick Starkel. True freshmen Mond and Starkel haven't taken a snap in college, while Hubenak has only played sparingly across two seasons with the Aggies.
Then there's Ole Miss and South Carolina, where sophomores Shea Patterson and Jake Bentley are entering their first full seasons as starters.
As weird as it sounds, Jalen Hurts - who was a true freshman last year with Alabama - is one of the more experienced pivots in the SEC. Only four projected starters in the conference have more career pass attempts than Hurts, and that even includes the combined numbers of those in quarterback battles.
| Team | Starter | Career Pass Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Jalen Hurts | 382 |
| Auburn | Jarrett Stidham | 109 |
| Arkansas | Austin Allen | 420 |
| Mississippi State | Nick Fitzgerald | 375 |
| Georgia | Jacob Eason | 370 |
| Ole Miss | Shea Patterson | 132 |
| South Carolina | Jake Bentley | 190 |
| Missouri | Drew Lock | 697 |
| Vanderbilt | Kyle Shurmur | 478 |
| Tennessee | Quinten Dormady/Jarrett Guarantano | 39 |
| LSU | Danny Etling | 698 |
| Florida | Malik Zaire | 98 |
| Texas A&M | Nick Starkel/Kellen Mond/Jake Hubenak | 179 |
| Kentucky | Drew Barker/Stephen Johnson | 371 |
This isn't exactly good news for anyone hoping to see the Crimson Tide denied a fourth straight SEC championship, as Nick Saban and Co. have a history of making inexperienced quarterbacks look ... well ... not good.