AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn has a rich history with the Walter Camp National Player of the Year award as three former Tigers – Cam Newton (2010), Bo Jackson (1985) and Pat Sullivan (1971) have earned the prestigious honor.
On Friday, quarterback Jarrett Stidham was named to the award's preseason watch list for 2018.
Stidham is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns. Playing in just first season at Auburn, the transfer from Baylor proved to be one of the more accurate and efficient quarterbacks in college football as he led the SEC in completion percentage (67 percent) and was fourth in the conference with a 151 passing rating.
Now a junior at Auburn, Stidham was selected second-team All-SEC by the media at SEC Media Days last week. He also made the watch lists for this year's Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award.
"He's very talented," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said at SEC Media Days. "The way he was playing the middle part of the year and end of the year (last year) was really phenomenal. From a quarterback standpoint in this league, experience – there's nothing like it because the defenses are different than other leagues. And I just really like the way he handled himself.
"He's a very tough young man, mentally and physically. And I think our offense is in very good hands going into his second year."
The watch list for the 2018 Walter Camp National Player of the Year award will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in mid-November. The winner, which is voted on by the 129 FBS head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN on Dec. 6.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf