Stidham brings history to Baylor

The defining moment for Jarrett Stidham wasn't when he committed to Texas Tech back in March.

It was happened soon thereafter. Baylor's pursuit of the Rivals No. 57 prospect persisted to the point where by December things starting changing. On Dec. 13, Stidham re-opened his recruiting. On Dec. 19, he announced his decision to commit to Baylor.

As a mid-semester enrollee, Stidham will report to Baylor for its spring semester that begins Jan. 12. Stidham is the highest rated quarterback to ever commit to Baylor and is the fifth member of the 2015 class with four stars. Stidham chose the Bears over Oregon. Before he arrives, Stidham is expected to play in the Under Armour All-American game on Jan. 2 in St. Petersburg, FL.

"I'm ready to get down there and see what happens,'' Stidham told Stephenville station KSTV FM Friday. "With [Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota] likely going to the draft and Bryce [Petty] going into the draft after his senior year, they were situations where I could compete for the starting job. I'm not thinking about redshirting. I'm ready to go compete my butt off.''

Stidham's relationship with the Baylor coaching staff started before his freshman year at Stephenville. Since that time, a relationship developed with former offensive coordinator (Tulsa head coach) Philip Montgomery and transitioned to Kendal Briles. He also attended Baylor's first junior day back in January.

At the time, it appeared that Baylor had poured in so much equity that Stidham (6-3, 190) committing to the program seemed to be a formality. But the stunning news on March 7 occurred when he announced he was committing to Texas Tech.

However, Baylor never yielded in its pursuit. Stidham was Baylor's guest at it June 1 camp on its campus. So the fact that he was willing to visit revealed Baylor was not out of this at all.

Then the seismic shift happened. Stidham reportedly had been in attendance at Baylor's Dec. 6 game against Kansas State and took an in-home a few days later. Whether or not that sealed the switch is anyone's guess. But Baylor stayed on message.

This wasn't a typical lifelong Stephenville player following the legendary run Briles established at Stephenville in the 1990s. Stidham didn't move into Stephenville until middle school.

"I didn't know much about coach Briles at first, but I got to know him during the recruiting process,'' Stidham said. "I'm doing what's best for me and for my future.''

Stidham earned Class 4A second-team all-state honors. He threw for just shy of 3,000 yards, completed 70 percent of his passes along with 35 touchdowns. Stidham also rushed for 969 yards and 15 TDs as Stephenville went 9-4. Not bad for someone who missed three weeks with a broken finger.

Now healthy, he appears to be in position to battle the starting position in 2015. While Seth Russell is the leader, Baylor's spring football season could have some very interesting subplots.

"Graduating early was the best thing for me,'' Stidham said. "I didn't want to sit the spring semester out.''

What they're saying:

Jason Howell, Rivals Southlands Analyst: "Jarrett Stidham has crisp mechanics and is a sharp decision maker. He's a pass first guy with the ability to make plays with his feet.''