AUBURN, Ala. – Jarrett Stidham added to his list of preseason accolades Tuesday as he was named to the watch list for the 2018 Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.
On Monday, Stidham made the preseason Maxwell Award watch list.
The Auburn signal caller is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns, completed an SEC-best 67 percent of his passes and finished fourth in the conference with a 151 passing efficiency rating. It was his first year eligible after transferring from Baylor, and he was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year.
Per Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, Stidham has been working this offseason on his pocket awareness and protecting the football while in the pocket. But there's not much room for improvement for the junior quarterback.
"He can make all the throws," Malzahn said Sunday on SEC Nation. "He ran the ball effectively the second half of the season, which really made a big difference. He's hungry.
"We're excited. This is the second time since I've been the head coach that we have the starting quarterback coming back. He's a great leader. He's been through the year, and he's been through a season. He knows what to expect. He played his best ball against the best defenses. So (we have) high expectations. We're glad he's leading our team."
Stidham is one of 26 selections for this year's Davey O'Brien Award watch list. He's one of six from the SEC, which has more any other conference.
Sixteen semifinalists for the award will be named on Nov. 6. From that list, the Davey O'Brien Foundation will announce the three finalists on Nov. 19. And the 2018 winner will be unveiled live Dec. 6 during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
The 2018 season marks the 12th year that fans will be invited to participate in the voting process on VoteOBrien.org. Results from the Davey O'Brien fan vote will be combined with the ballots from the selection committee. Fan voting, which accounts for five percent of the total balloting, will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
The 42nd Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner will be held Feb. 18, 2019, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf