For Auburn Tigers QB Jeremy Johnson, talent trumps experience

By Nicholas Ian Allen | Jul 25, 2015

Despite a lack of experience, talented quarterback Jeremy Johnson and the Auburn Tigers enter the 2015 season with expectations of a national championship.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn has had huge success as an offensive play-caller, but he’s never had a quarterback start back-to-back season openers during his time as a collegiate coach. However, unless something crazy happens between now and September 5, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson will become the first two-time Week 1 starter.

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Johnson got the nod for the 2014 season opener against Arkansas because of a first half suspension to incumbent starter Nick Marshall. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound gunslinger threw 16 passes in the first half against the Razorbacks, of which he completed 12 attempts for 243 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to Marshall at halftime – and for the rest of the 2014 season.

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Because of Marshall’s experience and explosive playmaking ability, Johnson has spent the majority his time at Jordan-Hare Stadium watching from the sidelines. Yet the understudy excelled in his sporadic opportunities to play last year and finished the 2014 season 28-for-37 passing – an impressive 75.7 completion percentage- and threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Now that Marshall is off to the NFL, the patient Johnson has his chance to shine. And he’s already been put squarely in the spotlight.

According to online sports book Bovada, only TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin (+400) and the Ohio State combo of Ezekiel Elliott (+700) and J.T. Barrett (+900) have better odds to win the Heisman Trophy than Johnson (+1000), who is tied with Georgia running back Nick Chubb for the best odds among all SEC players.

Furthermore, the SEC media thought enough about Johnson to put the junior on the 2015 Pre-Season All-SEC Second Team, behind only Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott. The local media wasn’t alone: pre-season college football magazine guru Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, and others ranked Johnson ahead of more experienced QBs like Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs and Missouri’s Maty Mauk.

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The biggest reason for those high expectations is supreme talent, not experience, and many fans and analysts believe Johnson is a more talented quarterback than Marshall. He has one of the strongest arms in the SEC, if not college football, and is also very accurate. In 13 career games, Johnson has completed 73.1 percent of his passes (28-for-37) with nine touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Additionally, with Jovon Robinson, Roc Thomas and Peyton Barber in the backfield and a wide receiving group that includes three seniors with NFL potential, with All-SEC receiver D’haquille ‘Duke’ Williams giving Johnson a future No. 1 pick to work with..

Johnson has just as many weapons at his disposal than Marshall did. Plus, despite losing two starters, the offensive line has five players returning with starting experience, including Ole Miss transfer Austin Golson who replaces Rimington winner Reese Dismukes at center.

Also, although he’s not exactly battle tested, Johnson actually has more experience than meets the eye.

Jul 13, 2015; Hoover, AL, USA; Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson talks to the media during SEC media days at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kelly Lambert-USA TODAY Sports

"“He’s got everything it takes, I believe, to be a very successful quarterback,” Malzahn tells Brandon Marcello of Al.com. “He got a lot of reps with the ones the last two years, too, because we never knew — as much as you run your quarterback — how to be ready. So he’s in a very good spot. We have a chance to run the entire offense.”"

And by “run the entire offense,” Malzahn means he will run with Johnson, much like he has done with Auburn quarterbacks in the past. Marshall carried the football 153 times in 2014, which was the second highest total on the team. Cam Newton ran an eye-popping 264 times in Malzahn’s offense during his National Championship and Heisman Trophy-winning 2010 season, when Malzahn was the offensive coordinator.

Despite a reputation as a rocket-armed pocket passer, and only 40 career rushing yards on 11 carries, Johnson can move the chains on the ground as well.

"“He can flat out throw it,” Malzahn tells Brandon Marcello of Al.com. “He can make every throw that you ask him to do, but he’s a better runner than people think. We didn’t ask him to run the past couple of years, but he’s a big, athletic guy.”"

In fact, Johnson has drawn comparisons to Newton for both his size and his running ability. This spring, rumors circulated that Johnson clocked a time of 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash, which is not only faster than the official time Newton (4.59) posted at the 2011 NFL Combine, but it’s also faster than the times Marcus Mariota (4.53), Colin Kaepernick (4.53), Russell Wilson (4.55), and Johnny Manziel (4.68) ran at their respective Combines.

The 4.51 number has been disputed, and Malzahn himself said, “he probably runs a 4.6,” but Johnson still moves extremely well for a 240-pound (and growing) quarterback and will be a scary sight for tacklers in the open field.

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Like Johnson, and in large part because of him, the Tigers enter 2015 with expectations even higher than the 2014 squad coming off an appearance in the final BCS National Championship Game. At SEC Media Days earlier this month, Auburn was picked as the favorite to win the SEC Championship this season despite the Tigers being one of the most inexperienced teams in the SEC.

According to Phil Steele’s Experience Chart, Auburn ranks No. 115 overall and No. 12 in the SEC in total experience among the nation’s 128 FBS teams. The Tigers return only 57.5 percent of their letter-winners from 2014 (No. 124 and No. 13, respectively) and 22.7 percent of their offensive production (No. 127, No. 14). Only four starters return on offense. Simply put, the media expects a lot from a group of players that didn’t play all that much in 2014.

Plus, Auburn isn’t exactly riding a wave of momentum anyway. After spending the majority of last season ranked in the nation’s top five, the Tigers lost their final three SEC contests and finished the year with a 34-31 overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

The defense was largely to blame, and the addition of new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is another reason for optimism on the Plains, but it’s still very rare to expect a squad coming off a disappointing 8-5 season and returning 12 starters to win in the nation’s toughest conference.

As always, Auburn faces a very tough road to Atlanta. The schedule sets up better this year than last, but the Tigers must travel through the treacherous SEC West as well as playing the program’s annual cross-division rival Georgia, who is once again favored to win the East.

Yet because of their pure overall talent – especially with Johnson at the quarterback position – the lack of momentum and shortage of experience didn’t stop the Tigers from rising atop the media’s preseason predictions. And that’s a good thing, because in the SEC, talent trumps experience.

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