SEC Football Preview: Five biggest questions for 2015

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

1. Can Jeremy Johnson live up to the hype?

The realistic answer is no. It has nothing to do with Jeremy Johnson but what has happened this offseason. Auburn was voted as the best team in the SEC at SEC Media Days. Sports Illustrated released its annual preview magazine and ranked the Tigers number two in college football.

Here is what we do know. Jeremy Johnson spent the past two seasons as a backup for Auburn. With how short a leash college football coaches have, they play the players they believe have the best chance to win games. For the past two seasons, the Auburn coaching staff believed Johnson did not give them the best chance to win.

I do not mean to throw a wet blanket on Auburn’s season or Jeremy Johnson. I have Auburn’s opener against Louisville as one of the most anticipated games of the season, and Johnson is a big reason for that. I also listed Johnson as one of the five most likely SEC players to win the Heisman.

He has looked good in the small sample size he has played, but it will be nearly impossible to live up to the expectations this offseason has created. Which is okay because Johnson can still be a really good quarterback, but he will need some help to make up for some of Auburn’s deficiencies from last season.

Next: Is Tennessee for real?