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After a long offseason of hype, Jeremy Johnson opened the season with the worst performance of his career against Louisville. The frustrating part for Auburn was not their star quarterback's ability, it was his decision making.
Johnson was hyped as the first college quarterback to play in Gus Malzahn's system for three consecutive seasons, however Saturday he broke another record in the Malzahn offense - the first quarterback to throw three interceptions in a game.
“I pretty much won’t make those mistakes again,” Johnson said after the game, according to War Eagle Extra.
The interceptions all came on passes Johnson should not have thrown, either forcing the ball or badly missing his receiver and throwing at defenders.
Louisville's head coach Bobby Petrino may have found something that SEC defenses will attempt to exploit all season long.
“I thought it was pressure,” Petrino said, of Johnson’s struggles. “When you get pressure on a quarterback, especially a young quarterback things change, and decision-making becomes harder.”
Malzahn has to be concerned following Johnson's initial performance, however he didn't show it in the post game.
“He’s going to be fine,” Malzahn said. “He made some very good plays to help us win, especially down the stretch. The third down and, what 13 or 12 to Duke (Williams), he’s going to be fine.”
Auburn certainly won't win the SEC if Johnson doesn't improve in league play but he'll have another game before heading to Death Valley to face LSU.
“I’m just happy that we got the win,” Johnson said. “All I can do is get ready for the next game and put this game behind me, learn from my mistakes.”
(h/t War Eagle Extra)
