Five Most Important Players for Auburn in 2017

1. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham

The Baylor transfer is the likely quarterback for the season, but he still needs to beat out Sean White, and that’s no easy task. In Stidham‘s one season, he had a higher completion rate — 68.8 percent — than White’s 63.9 percent, and his average completion length was three yards longer than White. Stidham also had a higher touchdown-to-interception ratio than White. Auburn desperately needs a passing game with downfield threat to with its running game. The Tigers have seen first-year quarterbacks such as Cam Newton and Nick Marshall thrive, so there will be pressure on Stidham to do the same. Malzahn is an offensive coach, but for the first time in his career, his team’s defense outperformed the offense. That needs to revert back to the norm in 2017.