ESPN has clearly bought in to the Jarrett Stidham hype.

Despite not taking a meaningful snap on a football field since November of 2015, ESPN ranks the new Auburn quarterback as the nation’s 22nd best college football player heading into the 2017 season. Meanwhile, Sean White, the player Auburn coaches are selling as a competitor for the starting role on the Plains, didn’t make ESPN’s list of Top 50 players for 2017.

Stidham’s ranking also stands out for the fact he ranks higher than the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Year, which is of course Jalen Hurts. The Alabama quarterback made the list but ranks as the No. 29 player in the nation — seven spots behind Stidham.

The Auburn quarterback also ranks higher than Texas A&M’s best player, dynamic receiver and return man Christian Kirk (No. 32 on the list), as well as Georgia running back Nick Chubb (No. 23).

Other players from the SEC that made the list, miraculously ranking ahead of Auburn’s spring sensation of a quarterback, LSU’s Arden Key (No. 19) and Derrius Guice (No. 5) and Alabama’s Calvin Ridley (No. 18) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (No. 7).

Offseason hype is nothing new for Stidham, he currently ranks as one of the SEC’s best bets to take home the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season, but Auburn would be wise to lean on its foundation on offense early in the season, which is built around a strong running game and the offensive line.

We’ll find out early if Stidham can live up to the hype, as Auburn travels to Clemson Week 2 to face one of the ACC’s best defenses. Should he lead his team to victory, the Stidham hype will only intensify heading into a brutal seven-game SEC stretch, but it seems a bit premature to call the inexperienced transfer one of the nation’s best before he even takes a snap in the SEC.