Gus Malzahn is in no hurry to rush Jarrett Stidham back from shoulder surgery.

The Auburn quarterback will have a limited spring after he returns from the procedure, which he underwent on his non-throwing shoulder in January. When will Stidham return?

“He’s out of his sling. He will be limited in the spring,” Malzahn said. “I know the four practices before we go on the break, he’ll be able to do some footwork, drills only. We expect him to be able to come back and throw once we come back from spring break — in the second half. We’ll just kinda see where that goes along the spring.”

(The Tigers’ spring break is March 12-16).

It doesn’t appear that the long-term health of Stidham is in any sort of doubt. He finished off a sophomore season in which he racked up 3,158 passing yards and 18 touchdowns to go along with 4 rushing scores.

That means Auburn will get a chance to see what it has in much-hyped enrollee Joey Gatewood, who was already compared to Cam Newton.

Auburn’s spring game is set for April 7.