AUBURN, Ala. – The preseason accolades continued for Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham Tuesday as he was named to the watch lists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
The Unitas Golden Arm Award is named after one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and presented annually to the nation's top college quarterback. Candidates must be a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class. Criteria for the award include character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity. In addition, the nominee must be born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas high school and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year college.
Stidham, who played high school football in Texas and spent a year at Baylor, is one of the top returning quarterbacks in the SEC. The junior threw for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns last year and also led the conference in completion percentage (66.5).
Last month, the Auburn signal caller was named second-team All-SEC by the media and also made watch lists for the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards.
"I just like to stay the course and be myself and let everybody else have all the opinions," Stidham said over the weekend. "As long as I know what I can do and the people in this room, the team, the staff, as long as we're all on the same page, I think we're all right."
Auburn opens the season Sept. 1 in Atlanta against Washington as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf