Coming out of high school in 2015, he was rated as a 5-star prospect and the best dual-threat quarterback in the nation by some recruiting services. He originally enrolled at Baylor, where he played in 10 games as a freshman but left when the program came under fire and head coach Art Briles was dismissed.
Stidham transferred to McClennan Community College, but he did not play football in 2016 so he wouldn’t use up a year of eligibility. He then transferred to Auburn, where he started for the Tigers in 2017. In his first year in Gus Malzahn’s offense, Stidham completed 246-of-370 passes for 3,158 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.