Auburn Football: Offensive Depth Chart Projections – Quarterback

Jan 2, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Highlight quarterback Sean White (13) throws the ball against Team Nitro during the first half of the Under Armour All America football game at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Sean White

The top candidate to become Jeremy Johnson’s backup in 2015 is redshirt freshman Sean White. Of course, he’s also Johnson’s top competition for the starting spot.

In December, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee hesitated to name Johnson the heir apparent to Nick Marshall, and mentioned that while Johnson will have a “leg up” in the quarterback completion, there will, in fact, be a competition.

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“I’ll say this: I think there’s a lot of potential for Sean White,” Lashlee said. “We’ve got someone else coming in early and some things like that. We’ll see how well that translates.”

As a high school senior, White threw for 2,656 yards and 30 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He didn’t receive a lot of early national attention as a recruit, but emerged to win MVP honors at the Under Armour All-American Game and at the Elite 11 camp.

White wasn’t expected to play at all in 2014, but he would have had something happened to Marshall or Johnson. Late in fall camp, the Boca Raton, Florida native moved ahead of former starting quarterback Jonathan Wallace on the depth chart.

“He earned it. He’s very accurate,” head coach Gus Malzahn said in August. “Of course, we knew that when we recruited him, but you never know how they handle everything else that goes with the position, but I believe the couple scrimmages he’s been live, he runs better than everybody thinks, and you know, you can really evaluate a quarterback when they’re live. And I really feel like he’s gotten better.”

Fortunately, nothing necessitated burning White’s redshirt last year and he’s still got four full seasons of eligibility. He’s sure to make his debut in 2015.

Next: Jonathan Wallace