There were 7 true freshmen that made the top 100 QB list at CFBstats last year. These kids were all in the 2019 class. Using the same points awarded analysis posted earlier in the comparison of the high school careers of Bailey, Guarantano, and Maurer, I’ve produced the same comparison between Guarantano and those 7 true freshmen from last season.
My purpose is to provide as objective a comparison as possible and not to disparage JG. There could be any number of reasons for JG’s inconsistent performance last year and this year things could be all better. I’m hoping to show that we should not be afraid of having a true freshman (Bailey) take the reins at QB for us simply because he is a true freshman.
One more thing to keep in mind. Jarrett Stidham in 2017 beat Georgia and beat Alabama and led Auburn to the SEC championship game. He went into 2018 with a lot of hype but owing to having lost his offensive line Auburn ended up with a substandard team in 2018. If fact they lost to a team that at the time was on an 11 game losing streak to SEC opponents. That wasn’t entirely Jarrett’s fault. jmo.
I’m just hoping Bailey gets a chance this year because it’s seemingly possible that after next year we will no longer have any 5-star offensive linemen for him to play behind. Having a good football team always comes down to having all the right parts at the same time and things are shaping up for 2021 to have all the right parts. It would be better in my opinion to work on our passing game for next year starting this year and I think that probably includes Bailey, Gibbs, Keyton (former HS teammate of Bailey’s), and Wideman, as a minimum. I think those 3 receivers in particular have 5-star potential. I think Whitehead may end up as a power back so with him, Gray, and Brown we should be good next year in the backfield. jmo.
I should also note that I’ve read that JG has already started working with Bailey to get him up to speed as quick as possible, a move on his part that I both applaud and appreciate. jmo.
So the summary points table first then the supporting tables for the comparisons: