After two seasons of sitting behind Nick Marshall, Jeremy Johnson has had plenty of time to hone his skills behind closed doors.
Fans got a chance to see how capable Johnson is of leading the offense in the first half against Arkansas in 2014, when Marshall was suspended, but Johnson was still always going to be the backup.
Now as the presumed starter, Johnson will have no trouble at all leading the team if his play during A-Day is any indication.
Johnson attempted 22 passes — all in the first half — and connected on 14 for 252 yards and a pair of scores, leading Team Auburn to a 24-14 win. He led Team Auburn to a 24-7 halftime lead, while Sean White ran Team Tigers’ offense.
Even with a stellar stat line, Johnson still wasn’t satisfied with how he performed.
“I played okay,” Johnson said. “I didn’t perform to my best, but it was really about giving our receivers a chance to let them make plays.”
Johnson began by connecting on five of his first six passes, but he had a stretch where he locked on to Williams, as his next five throws to Williams hit the turf.
The next time he targeted Williams, however, the crowd erupted.
After heaving a deep ball to Ricardo Louis, Johnson lofted a beautifully thrown ball to Williams, who twisted and adjusted in the air to make the catch in the end zone, leading to the “DUUUUKE” that Auburn fans know so well.
Johnson then added to his already impressive day with a 43-yard touchdown to Myron Burton late in the second quarter, putting Team Auburn up 24-7.
White, who started for Team Tigers, had an efficient 14-19 outing, throwing for 109 yards on the day. Despite the noise surrounding the quarterback competition, White insisted he isn’t thinking about the outcome.
“I don’t really get all into that, “White said. “When the coaches tell me to go play, I go play, and that’s pretty much all I can control.
With a few months still to go before the season, Williams believes the offense has nowhere to go but up, and he thinks Johnson has what it takes.
“We’ve got fall camp and summer coming up, so our chemistry will only get better,” Williams said. “It was a little preview (of the offense), but in the fall it’s going to be better.”
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