Jarrett Stidham recruit scouting report: Strong-armed dual-threat quarterback

Jarrett Stidham is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2015 and a potential playmaker as a college signal caller.

Stidham, checking in at 6’3.5 and 190 pounds, is out of Stephenville (Texas) High School, and he runs a reported 4.56-second 40-yard dash. As of February 2014, he’s listed as a consensus five-star recruit, and the 247Sports Composite ratings ranks him as the second-best dual-threat quarterback in the class. He’s ranked No. 36 in the nation and No. 6 among prospects from the state of Texas.

Stidham is drawing significant interest from schools around the country. He already holds scholarship offers from a number of top programs, including Texas Tech, Alabama, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas.

Fans can follow Stidham on Twitter at @Jarrett_Stidham.

As a sophomore, Stidham caught passes from 2013 Texas State signee Tyler Jones, scoring 11 touchdowns and amassing 819 receiving yards on 50 catches. Stidham made the move to quarterback for his junior season and received a remarkable amount of interest and numerous high-level offers despite attempting only three passes as a sophomore.

Like Damarkus Lodge, Stidham rewarded the belief in his talents by racking up more than 3,400 total yards, including 2,613 passing yards with 30 touchdowns and only five interceptions, an interception rate of 1.9%.

A good athlete, Stidham doesn’t appear quite as fast as his listed 4.56 40, as he often got caught by defenders with angles last year -- he just doesn’t quite have breakaway speed. The former wide receiver does have some lateral quickness and is big enough to break some arm tackles at the high school level. The Inverted zone read is his best running play because it allows him to get downhill quickly instead of moving sideways, but he also shows a nice feel for when to pitch or keep the ball on the speed option, hardly a given for a dual-threat quarterback.

Where Stidham really shines is with his arm strength, which allows him to fit throws into small windows. And for a prospect who didn’t get to play quarterback as a sophomore, he appears remarkably polished in terms of his mechanics, from his solid footwork to his clean, crisp throwing motion. His good footwork and ideal sequencing with his front foot step allows him to maximize his arm strength to put significant velocity on his passes.

As a result, Stidham can reach difficult parts of the field and doesn’t have any problems making throws from one hash to the sideline. He can also push the ball down the field on deep throws and is comfortable moving right, where his pure arm strength is apparent on throws with remarkable velocity for him being on the move.

However, there is not a lot of evidence of Stidham making touch passes like fade routes in the red zone and no evidence of his ability to throw on the run moving left. Stidham also has the benefit of throwing from clean pockets, so it’s hard to project how well he can deliver passes with defenders in his face and whether he can scramble to create time to throw downfield.

Overall, though, it’s clear that Stidham is an above-average athlete whose running ability will benefit him in college and a natural passer who is remarkably poised and accurate despite his lack of high school experience at the position, facts that bode well for his transition to college.