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Why freshman Sean White could run with the Auburn QB job
In what is the most surprising turn of the first month of the season, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has benched the QB who many projected to be a Heisman dark horse this fall -- and the guy he brought to SEC Media Days in July -- Jeremy Johnson. Six interceptions in just 72 pass attempts is woeful and so was the Tigers’ normally potent offense. Auburn ranks second to last in the SEC in total offense with just 329 yards per game, 114th in the nation overall. So, with a 2-1 record that includes an ugly narrow escape over FCS Jacksonville State and a blowout loss to LSU, Malzahn is going to Plan B: redshirt freshman Sean White.
"I feel like that's best for our offense right now," Malzahn said. "Sean White is a guy that has got a lot of reps. He's responded very well in practice, very well in scrimmages, and I just feel like he needs a shot right now. We've got a lot of confidence in him right now.”
The confidence piece is critical when it comes to QBs and it sure looked like Johnson’s confidence had been rattled from his three-interception performance against Louisville in the opener. My hunch is White’s confidence won’t buckle.
I spent a decent amount of time around White while working on my book "The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks." He wasn’t one of those big, prototypical 6-4 blue-chip kids who had been getting offers from big schools from the time he was a sophomore. In fact, he was one of the most unheralded QB prospects selected for the prestigious Elite 11 event in 2013.
I go back to a scene in the book revolving around the first time White’s name came up in the Elite 11 staff’s war room. Trent Dilfer, the former NFL quarterback who runs the group, asked longtime Elite 11 coach Matt James to "stand on the table" for a guy.
James brought up White, a 6-1, shaggy-haired QB from Fort Lauderdale, who, unlike many of the kids under consideration for the Elite 11 finals, hadn’t committed to a college program yet. White had been one of the most determined quarterbacks, having come to two Elite 11 events in Atlanta and Columbus and also stayed for the Nike training camps the following day. White had not been anointed by the online recruiting experts as a highly ranked guy, and he didn’t have a bunch of big-name schools that had offered him scholarships, but he had shined on the summer 7-on-7 circuit while leading the powerful South Florida Express squad, a team loaded with elite players.
“I think it helped a lot, because going against the best in practice all the time and competing with them really makes you better,” White told me that summer. “That’s why I think South Florida kids do so well in college -- they are used to the competition level, because they already saw it in high school down [t]here.” White had been practicing with his Express teammates weekly from February until June, with some time off in May, when his high school team -- the University School Suns -- had its spring practice sessions.
“Besides [Arizona quarterback now at Texas A&M] Kyle Allen, Sean’s the most consistent passer we have had,” said James. “His steps are on time. He throws it nice. He looks a lot like [unheralded-recruit-turned-Cincinnati Bengals-starter] Andy [Dalton] but better.”
At the event in Oregon, where there were not just other touted quarterbacks but also 160 of the four- and five-star recruits at every other position, White thrived.
“He’s telling the other QBs what to do; he’s making these guys better,” said former NFL QB Charlie Frye, White’s coach on the team that competed at The Opening, which ran at the same time as the Elite 11. “Just talking about him, I’m getting goosies. He had nine incompletions and five TDs, and he also had a dropped TD.”
White’s team, the Field Generals, began the tournament by losing their first game by almost 40 points, but that was a game White didn’t play in. The Field Generals rallied to win the 7-on-7 title after White led them on a last-minute touchdown drive for a come-from-behind 21–14 win over Team Alpha Pro. The championship carried White -- who ended up committing to Auburn two weeks later, a school he didn’t have an offer from before coming to Oregon -- to MVP honors of The Opening and the Elite 11.
When I visited Auburn last spring, I caught up with White, who had filled out quite a bit from the days going into his senior year of high school. Tigers offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee told me White had been really progressing well. He said he had “an NFL arm, and throws the deep ball very well. He anticipates well and he's got great accuracy. He is also a much better athlete than people give him credit for."
I am very curious to see how White does taking over the Auburn offense. Starting against Mississippi State is a good test. But I wouldn’t bet against White seizing this opportunity.
Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FS1. He is also a New York Times best-selling author. His new book, "The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks," came out in October 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BruceFeldmanCFB and Facebook.
