Despite getting pulled in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M, Sean White will remain the starting quarterback for Auburn.
Head coach Gus Malzahn named White the starter for the third time this season Tuesday morning, shutting down speculation that John Franklin III would replace him.
“We feel like he gives us the best chance of winning,” Malzahn said. “We've got to be better around him. We've got to put him in better situations from a coaching standpoint to help him.”
White was 18-of-27 for 126 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against Texas A&M, and with Auburn trailing in the final period, Malzahn pulled White for Franklin, saying the offense needed “a shot in the arm.”
Franklin’s substitution sparked the rushing attack, which suddenly found more room to operate as defenses were forced to respect Franklin’s speed on the outside. However, Franklin did run out of bounds a few yards short of the first-down marker on fourth down, turning the ball over on downs.
“You know, he'll learn from it,” Malzahn said. “He won't do it again. That's probably the best way to answer that … You know, like I've said before, he's learning the offense. Every time that he goes out there, we learn more about him. He is explosive, like everybody can see. He just needs to feel more comfortable.”
Malzahn didn’t immediately commit to keeping White as the starter following the loss to Texas A&M, saying the coaching staff would “talk things over” in the coming days. Ultimately, they decided to stick with White.
And moving forward, Malzahn says White will be getting more freedom to run the offense how he likes.
“And he is getting to a point where he can take charge a little bit more,” Malzahn said. “We as coaches, we need to give him a little more freedom. That's part of the plan moving forward, too. We've got to put him in some better situations also.”
The biggest key to White performing to his ability is getting him in a rhythm, which he found during the first quarter against Texas A&M. He started 6 for 6 with 62 yards, but finished just 12 for 21 with 64 yards the rest of the game.
“It's very important [to get White in a rhythm],” Malzahn said. "We've got confidence in him to do that. We had a couple of negative plays trying to throw the ball on first down because of the mesh charge, trying to get him in a rhythm. But there's no doubt that when he gets in a rhythm, he's a solid quarterback.”
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