[LeeCoUKFan]

QB Stidham continues to impress

Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst

Jarrett Stidham showed flashes of his immense potential at the Rivals Underclassman Challenge and observers were left wondering just how high his ceiling is with so little experience behind center.

Stidham will be starting for the first time as the Stephenville, Texas, quarterback this fall but his relative lack of experience didn't hurt him at all at Rivals' signature national event for underclassmen over the weekend.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound quarterback is clearly an outstanding athlete, but he's also got a phenomenal arm that will serve him well in college once he gets some experience and polish.

"I feel like I did pretty good," Stidham told Cats Illustrated. "It was hard to get a lot of reps because there were so many quarterbacks there but I had a lot of fun with it. I got to throw to some fast kids and some good receivers so that was fun. Mostly I'm just trying to keep working on my game in every single way.

Stephenville starts two-a-day practices on August 5 and Stidham is excited about what's in store for the team. He told Cats Illustrated that the defense will be stacked and the offensive line returns all but one starter. That's good news for any quarterback, especially one that will be working on pocket presence for the first time.

The two questions are at receiver and running back, but Stidham's abilities should help the offense go.

One adjustment for Stidham will be in terms of leadership. He will be the one shouting out directions and leading the team from the huddle and behind center.

"That kinda comes naturally to me," Stidham said. "I'm an outgoing kind of person. I don't like to sit back and just watch other people do their thing. I like to talk."

Kentucky is recruiting Stidham as a quarterback and Cats Illustrated first reported on his deep ties to the Commonwealth and the UK program last month. He and his family visit the state just about every year and this year is no exception.

The only difference this year is he will be returning to UK as a recruit rather than as a fan as he did as a child.

"I'm going down to Alabama on Sunday night and then I'll be there Monday and Tuesday," Stidham said. "Then I'm going north to Kentucky and I'll be at their camp that Friday. I think I'm visiting that Saturday and then I'll be there (in the state) for four or five days visiting family and friends."

Stidham admitted that Alabama has his attention. He has offers from UK, Texas, Texas A&M and others, but an offer from the Tide would be special.

"Honestly that would probably be bigger than the others," he said. "Three out of the last four national championships. I'm not saying you're guaranteed a national championship if you go there but that would be a hard one to pass up."

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1523687