Auburn Tigers: Pump the brakes on the hype train for QB Jeremy Johnson

By Jake Wimberly | Aug 10, 2015

Are expectations too high for Auburn’s first-year starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson?

The 2015 SEC football season will bring us another great year of college football in the South, and this year several teams within the conference will be breaking in new quarterbacks. Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and South Carolina all have questions at the most important position on the field; and the Auburn Tigers will be breaking in a new quarterback in Junior Jeremy Johnson.

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But Johnson is much different from the rest of the field, as he is the heir apparent to Nick Marshall, has a little playing time that we can evaluate and the media has fallen in love with Montgomery, Alabama’s only son. Johnson, who has only thrown 37 passes in an Auburn uniform, has gone from backup to Heisman contender and even drawn comparisons to Cam Newton; among others.

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I honestly cannot remember a player that has done so little, yet hyped so much over the years, which is why I pose the question, are we jumping the gun on Jeremy Johnson?

One Google search for Jeremy Johnson highlights and it’s filled with 2012 high school highlights, the best of Jeremy Johnson on HUDL and more, but we have very little to go by as a college player, which again is why I ask, are we all overhyping a guy that’s yet to win in Death Valley, or play meaningful minutes of SEC football?

Yes Johnson went 12-of-16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the first half against Arkansas, but that was before the Hogs found their way and couldn’t even cover a slant route. If you don’t believe me, just watch the highlights.

With only five offensive starters returning on the offensive side of the ball, and as the Tigers adjust to new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, one has to wonder, if the pressure is too high and have we all put Johnson on a pedestal he can only fall from?

Yes Gus Malzahn is one of the best play callers in college football and yes the Tigers are an elite recruiter, but with very little experience returning in the run game, breaking in two new offensive line starters and now questions of if Johnson will even have star wide receiver Duke Williams at his disposal, one has to wonder is this task to tall for a guy with very limited SEC experience?

I cannot remember a time, where a guy who did so very little, has so many expectations in front of him. Johnson, who now sits at fourth in the Heisman odds per Bovada, only behind Trevone Boykin of TCU, and Ohio State duo Braxton Miller and Ezekiel Elliot, continues to see his stock rise in the preseason.

Johnson has now even passed returning veterans Dak Prescott of Mississippi State and Cody Kessler of USC in the Heisman race – on only 37 passing attempts.

But this isn’t all that uncommon in sports as we are always looking for the next “great athlete” to replace a legend or transcendent player. After Michael Jordan left the NBA, the search was on for the next “MJ”. At Florida who will be the next Tim Tebow and of course the comparisons on the Plains are Jeremy Johnson in relationship to Cam Newton.

Fans do this because they remember greatness and want to experience that again, but often times we see players miss the bench mark on expected results. Jeff Driskel at Florida and Jake Coker at Alabama, up until now come to mind. Driskel was the All American boy expected to be the next great quarterback in line at Florida and never could make it work. Driskel will finish his college career this year at Louisiana Tech.

Coker was raved about all offseason last year, even people mentioning how he “almost” beat out then Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. But, up until now, Coker has struggled to get playing time at Alabama and we will see if he can finally become the guy for the Crimson Tide this fall.

This is not a knock on Johnson or his ability, as he is without question uber talented; but we may want to pump the brakes on Johnson, until we see what shakes out with Williams, the running game and how Jonson handles a very tough 2015 season.

The Tigers open up with Louisville in the Georgia Dome in just a few weeks, then have to travel to LSU, before returning home to take on Mississippi State. If Johnson can navigate the early part of the Tigers schedule, he will validate all the hype around him. But, if Johnson struggles in week one, or the Tigers drop a couple of games early, the praise will turn to criticism quickly; it’s just what happens in the rugged SEC.

Thankfully we are now just a few weeks away from the start of the season and we will finally find out if Johnson is worthy of all the hype. One thing is for sure, once the ball is kicked off in the SEC, all the talking will stop and Johnson will have to produce. The SEC demands it and we will find out what Johnson is really made of.

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