All things considered, Jarrett Stidham’s first season in the SEC was a big success for Auburn. The Tigers captured the West division and advanced to Atlanta for an opportunity to win the league after beating both Georgia and Alabama in the regular season and the former Baylor quarterback played a large role in the achievements of the program in 2017.

In addition to helping led Auburn to a 10-2 regular season record, Stidham completed over 66 percent of his throws for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns to only six interceptions last season.

Now entering his second season on The Plains, Stidham is preparing for an even bigger campaign with the Tigers. While acting as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy last week, Stidham gave some time and answered questions from the media present at the event.

Among the topics to come up was the much-discussed freedom Stidham will have at the line of scrimmage in Auburn’s offense. While it appeared at times last season he wasn’t given much freedom to make adjustments, Stidham claims that won’t be the case in 2018.

“Obviously a thing we’ve talked a lot about, that has been talked about a lot, is having some more freedom at the line — and that kind of thing,” Stidham said during his media availability, which was captured by NOLA.com and posted to YouTube. “Now that I understand what we are doing on offense, I know how (the coaches) are thinking, having the ability to check plays on my own to get us into certain things, against certain coverages whatever it may be, we’ve talked a lot about that. I think you’ll see this year, that kind of progress for myself and the offense.”

In terms of things that need to improve for himself and the Tigers, Stidham pointed toward the necessity to make strides in consistency. That’s something the Auburn quarterback believes doesn’t come overnight but is something you build slowly with daily attention to detail in the offseason.

“Consistency. That’s going to be a big thing for us,” Stidham continued. “When you beat two No. 1 teams in three weeks, and then you lose back-to-back games, you know in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the consistency just wasn’t there. Just being more consistent on a daily basis, whether it’s in workouts or practice, just being more consistent. I think those little habits of consistency will carry over to the season.”

If the Tigers can accomplish that, another trip to Atlanta could be in order come early December.