Get to know Jeremy Johnson's replacement.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn announced Tuesday that redshirt freshman Sean White would be the team's new starting QB, replacing Jeremy Johnson, the hyped junior who struggled mightily in the Tigers' first three games.
A 6'0, 200-pounder from University School in Davie (Fla.). White was rated a four-star recruit coming out of high school and a top-10 QB. He also held offers from Boston College, Syracuse, West Virginia and a number of Ivy league schools, and was on the cusp of receiving other offers when he abruptly committed to Auburn and shut down his recruitment in May 2014.
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White is an accurate passer with a quick release and a good arm. He doesn't throw the ball out of the stadium, but he does have a bigger arm arm than his frame might suggest. White showed the ability to make quick decisions and not try to do too much, especially in the 7-on-7 circuits. He would work well in a rhythm passing game.
One thing White is not, though, is a runner. And throughout his tenure at Auburn, Malzahn's best offenses featured great runners like Cam Newton and Nick Marshall at quarterback. Much of the throwing success those two had came against simplified coverage first and foremost concerned with stopping the run, and off play action.
White is not a bad athlete, but he is not built like a QB that can take shot after shot running the football. If Auburn's run game doesn't get back in gear, it will be interesting to see what type of coverage Auburn faces, and how it can help White have success throwing the football.
College and Magnolia broke down White's performance from Auburn's spring A-Day game. While White threw few if any passes that could have been intercepted, Johnson still looked better on that day.
For all the praise I'm giving White in this footage, though, remember one thing: Jeremy Johnson looked much better. It's mind-boggling to figure out what happened between then and the beginning of the season. I don't know why he suddenly started struggling when he had looked so good in his previous appearances. We had every reason to believe Jeremy Johnson would be able to handle the starting role.
That said, White seems like the safer choice. His track record suggests he's an accurate passer, and is probably capable of helping to reduce Auburn's turnovers, which could give the Tigers a chance to stay in some ball games.