Jarrett Stidham made the right choice by transferring from Baylor.
Make no mistake about it: this article is not an indictment of the program or head coach Jim Grobe. As I wrote in our 2016 Baylor preview, I think the team is going to have a strong season. I also opined that Grobe is a home-run hire and that he’s the perfect candidate to lead the program through this difficult time.
With that said, Stidham did the right thing by leaving. Sure, some will argue that he should have honored his commitment to the school or “stuck it out” for a year behind Russell.
However, those arguments don’t hold up under scrutiny. For starters, Stidham committed to play for a program that used an up-tempo, pass-heavy attack. With Briles’ dismissal, he may never get the opportunity. After all, Jim Grobe’s teams at Ohio and Wake Forest relied heavily on the run, which is a dramatic shift from the offense he signed up for. Even if – and it’s a LaQuan McGowan sized if – Grobe opted to let Kendall Briles run the show, Stidham still wouldn’t get the opportunity to get better this fall because he’d be backing up Seth Russell. With Russell getting the majority of the reps in practice and almost all of the playing time in games, there’s not much that Stidham would be able to do to refine his craft.
In other words: staying at Baylor for the 2016 campaign wouldn’t be a learning experience. It would simply be a waste of time, even if Briles were to call the plays.
There’s no guarantee that Stidham would be able to play in the offense that he signed up for in the future, either. Yes, every blogger in the country has a list of “Air Raid” coaches that would be a great fit at Baylor next fall, but what happens if none of them are interested? Who would still want to coach the team if the NCAA decides to sanction the school?
Or – as I’ve predicted – what happens if the team has a great season and removes the interim tag from Jim Grobe?
The answer to all of these questions is, “I don’t know.”
Given all this uncertainty, it only makes sense for Stidham to leave. Whether he chooses to transfer to another school right away or play at a junior college this fall before making that decision, Stidham will at least have the opportunity to play in an offense that’s suited to his skill set.
More importantly, he’ll know exactly what he’s getting himself into in the future. Instead of asking himself, “what if” for the next six months, Stidham can start preparing for what looks to be a very bright future.
It’s hard to fault anyone for making a decision like that.
