Auburn Football: Sean White named starting quarterback by default

The Auburn Tigers named Sean White the team’s starting quarterback for the season opener against the Clemson Tigers.

If there were any questions about who would be the starting quarterback for Auburn in their season opener against Clemson, they have now been answered. Thursday, head coach Gus Malzahn announced after practice that Sean White won the three-man quarterback competition over Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin III, a junior college transfer.

In addressing the media, Malzahn made it clear that he felt comfortable with his decision.

“We’ve got three guys that can run our offense but Sean White’s the first one that will be out there,” Malzahn said. “We’re excited for Sean. He’s earned it. He’s a guy that has experience in our offense last year. He’s a tough guy. He’s in a good spot. He’s in a good spot to lead this team. The team’s going to rally around him so I’m excited for him.”

Malzahn did not reveal how exactly the depth chart would look after White, something that may become clearer as the season progresses.

White appeared in seven games last season, going 83-143 for 1,167 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions.

Although that may be a small sample size, White has proven to be at the very least dependable. One interesting tidbit that Malzahn shared with the media Thursday is that White ran a 4.6 40 earlier in the spring, which is important in the sense that the Auburn offense is greatly enhanced by a quarterback that can move outside the pocket.

White will be tested early in the season with Clemson and Texas A&M both on the docket in the month of September.

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One intriguing subplot in all of this is that, in the unfortunate event that White gets injured who would replace him? With no definitive depth chart set to this point, one would think that this is something that will be resolved in the near future.