Three games into the 2015 season, the Jeremy Johnson experiment is apparently over at Auburn.
At least, for now.
After throwing six interceptions in three games, losing his confidence and looking as uncomfortable in the pocket as any quarterback in college football, head coach Gus Malzahn announced on Tuesday that redshirt freshman Sean White will make the start for the 2-1 Tigers this Saturday in a critical matchup with 2-1 Mississippi State.
Malzahn commented on the switch, which can only be described as a "panic move," during his press conference on Tuesday, according to Tom Green of the Opelika-Auburn News and Jason Caldwell of Inside the Auburn Tigers.
Tweets from AU beat writers:
Gus: "I feel good about Sean. ... His teammates will have a whole lot of confidence in him"
Will QB be a week-to-week thing? Gus says they're taking it one game at a time.
Malzahn "anytime you change quarterbacks it's not an easy decision...we feel like it's best for our offense right now"
White brings with him plenty of accolades.
The 6'0", 200-pound pro-style passer from Boca Raton, Florida, was the MVP of the 2013 Elite 11 quarterback camp, MVP of the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game and a 4-star prospect in the class of 2014. During his senior season at University School, White completed 159 of his 259 passes for 2,656 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
That's all well and good, but he has yet to take a snap in a college football game. Now Malzahn and the Auburn staff are expecting him to lead a team that's looked mediocre all year to a win against an SEC West foe in a game that essentially serves as an elimination game in the SEC West?
No thanks.
Sure, Johnson has been a headache seemingly from the moment he trotted out on the field vs. Louisville in the season opener. He hasn't been able to read simple underneath coverage, stares down receivers and—as indicated by his happy feet in the vine below—is clearly rattled.
(GIF of JJ's backwards pass)
But he did run well in the second half last week in Baton Rouge, including a 65-yard scamper up the gut that went for a touchdown.
Getting through the Mississippi State game with an over-simplified, multi-dimensional rushing attack is more likely with Johnson—a guy who's received first-team reps since the end of spring practice—than it is with a completely untested freshman, no matter how good he was in high school.
The time for Auburn to make a quarterback change isn't this week, it's next week vs. San Jose State.
No matter who starts on Saturday, it's clear that Auburn needs to reevaluate its quarterback position where appropriate. The game vs. the Spartans is a much more appropriate place—especially with the bye week immediately after—than an SEC West elimination game.
Malzahn is more likely to have two quarterbacks who lack confidence this time next week than one who looks like the guy who's going to save the 2015 season.
It hasn't worked with Johnson, and that's obvious.
But the fact that Malzahn would pull the trigger and make the change to White on such a critical week for this year's Auburn Tigers is an indication that an enormous level of panic has set in on the Plains.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
At least, for now.
After throwing six interceptions in three games, losing his confidence and looking as uncomfortable in the pocket as any quarterback in college football, head coach Gus Malzahn announced on Tuesday that redshirt freshman Sean White will make the start for the 2-1 Tigers this Saturday in a critical matchup with 2-1 Mississippi State.
Malzahn commented on the switch, which can only be described as a "panic move," during his press conference on Tuesday, according to Tom Green of the Opelika-Auburn News and Jason Caldwell of Inside the Auburn Tigers.
Tweets from AU beat writers:
Gus: "I feel good about Sean. ... His teammates will have a whole lot of confidence in him"
Will QB be a week-to-week thing? Gus says they're taking it one game at a time.
Malzahn "anytime you change quarterbacks it's not an easy decision...we feel like it's best for our offense right now"
White brings with him plenty of accolades.
The 6'0", 200-pound pro-style passer from Boca Raton, Florida, was the MVP of the 2013 Elite 11 quarterback camp, MVP of the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game and a 4-star prospect in the class of 2014. During his senior season at University School, White completed 159 of his 259 passes for 2,656 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
That's all well and good, but he has yet to take a snap in a college football game. Now Malzahn and the Auburn staff are expecting him to lead a team that's looked mediocre all year to a win against an SEC West foe in a game that essentially serves as an elimination game in the SEC West?
No thanks.
Sure, Johnson has been a headache seemingly from the moment he trotted out on the field vs. Louisville in the season opener. He hasn't been able to read simple underneath coverage, stares down receivers and—as indicated by his happy feet in the vine below—is clearly rattled.
(GIF of JJ's backwards pass)
But he did run well in the second half last week in Baton Rouge, including a 65-yard scamper up the gut that went for a touchdown.
Getting through the Mississippi State game with an over-simplified, multi-dimensional rushing attack is more likely with Johnson—a guy who's received first-team reps since the end of spring practice—than it is with a completely untested freshman, no matter how good he was in high school.
The time for Auburn to make a quarterback change isn't this week, it's next week vs. San Jose State.
No matter who starts on Saturday, it's clear that Auburn needs to reevaluate its quarterback position where appropriate. The game vs. the Spartans is a much more appropriate place—especially with the bye week immediately after—than an SEC West elimination game.
Malzahn is more likely to have two quarterbacks who lack confidence this time next week than one who looks like the guy who's going to save the 2015 season.
It hasn't worked with Johnson, and that's obvious.
But the fact that Malzahn would pull the trigger and make the change to White on such a critical week for this year's Auburn Tigers is an indication that an enormous level of panic has set in on the Plains.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
