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Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn Confident Jarrett Stidham Can Play Well For The Patriots

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David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn is confident Jarrett Stidham can lead the way if he becomes the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.

Stidham is one of the options on the table right now for the Pats after Tom Brady left the team for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

If Bill Belichick rolls with him, Malzahn thinks he’s more than capable to get the job done.

 

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Malzahn told Yahoo Sports the following in part about what the Patriots will get in Stidham under center:

When he came to us in the SEC West, after sitting out a year, he stepped right in. What stood out to me was his mental toughness. The moment was never too big for him. He has a quiet confidence about him. We won the SEC with him and had a lot to do with that. He played his best football in our biggest games.

Back when the Patriots picked Stidham, I liked the selection a lot. Is Stidham a perfect quarterback? No, but he’s got some nice tools to work with.

His arm is okay, but he’s a really good athlete. Given how the NFL game is changing, mobility is something offenses are placing a premium on.

After all, you don’t dominate the SEC by accident. You can only do that if you have some serious talent.

However, the Patriots also need to decide if they want to target Trevor Lawrence in 2021. If Bill Belichick gets his hands on the Clemson star, we could be off to the races for the next decade.

The Pats should give Stidham a shot at some serious playing time, find out what he has in the tank and make a decision from there.

 

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If he shows some flashes of brilliance and the team can still get Lawrence, then it might up his trade value. They could dump him for picks and get Lawrence.

Either way, I think there’s a good chance Stidham gets some substantial playing time in 2020.