As the season opener against No. 2 Clemson looms, Auburn's search for a starting quarterback continues.
The competition between senior Jeremy Johnson, redshirt sophomore Sean White and junior college transfer John Franklin III still has no definitive leader, according to head coach Gus Malzahn.
"I'm not ready to name a starting quarterback yet. There's still very good competition," Malzahn said. "Hopefully, we'll know something in the near future, but not right now. It's too good a competition. We're going to let those guys compete for a little longer and see what happens."
Malzahn doesn't have a timetable for naming the starting quarterback, nor does he have a pecking order at this point of fall camp. He emphasized that all three quarterbacks still have an opportunity to win the job. "If there was a pecking order, I'd say, 'Hey, these two right here are battling it out right now.' I'm not ready to say that yet," Malzahn said.
Quarterback questions have been lingering since the end of the Tigers' disappointing 7-6 campaign last season. Auburn never found consistency behind center, as Johnson went 95-for-157 for 1,053 yards, 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, while White went 83-for-143 for 1,167 yards, a single touchdown and 4 interceptions.
While Johnson is Auburn's returning rushing touchdown leader with 6 scores on the ground last season, the lack of a consistent running threat hurt the Tigers frequently in 2015. Franklin III, who was an explosive runner at East Mississippi Community College, gives Auburn some speed at quarterback, but his passing ability has been under the microscope since he first arrived at fall camp.
Despite his inexperience, Franklin III remains a factor in the quarterback race. "They're rolling their sleeves up and competing," Malzahn said. "John's right in the middle of that."
While the duration of this competition is worrying to fans, Malzahn believes that it's a good thing that the battle for the starting job has been so close. "You can tell the intensity as it gets a little bit closer," he said. "It gets different each day, which I think is good."
According to Malzahn, this part of the competition is when things will become more clear. "They're all three fighting for the job and I think that's a positive," Malzahn said.
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