Even though Auburn quarterback Sean White was clearly hurting and, in his own words, had ‘aggravated’ the same shoulder that had been hampering him for a few weeks, he stayed in the game against Georgia.
He ended up finishing 6-of-20 for 27 yards and an interception in the 13-7 loss to Georgia, well below the normal parameters of efficiency White is accustomed to.
Despite not throwing a pass in practice for the last two weeks, White suited up as the starting quarterback, and no consideration was ever given to removing him in favor of John Franklin III or Jeremy Johnson because the coaches never believed White ‘wasn’t healthy enough to win the game for us,’ according to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
“When you’re in a tight game, we were ahead 7-0 for a good part of it, and a one-score game throughout, there was no indication that he was limited to the point where he couldn’t give us the best chance to win,” Lashlee said.
It’s possible White was more limited than he let on. Early in the game, an unblocked Georgia rusher hit White following a pass, which exacerbated the injury to his already ailing shoulder. He told his coaches he was able to play, and they let him.
“I think I could have done a little bit better job as far as just letting them know how bad it was really hurting me,” White said. “Just being a competitor, I wanted to win. I wanted to be out there playing and so I don’t know if I really let them know how bad it was hurting me. That’s on me, and I have to do a better job of just being honest. Because maybe the best chance to win might be somebody else if I’m not healthy enough.”
In the second half, which began with Auburn clinging to a 7-0 lead, the Tigers failed to secure a first down in any of its seven possessions and failed to convert any of its third downs, most of which were due to incomplete passes.
The offense was already limited with Kamryn Pettway sitting out to nurse a leg injury and Kerryon Johnson not yet 100 percent following the injury he suffered against Mississippi State last month. Johnson still ran for 99 yards on 22 carries, but he wasn’t given a single carry on any of those third downs.
“We were running it good enough for third-and-two-to-three to say we have a pretty good chance of getting it,” Lashlee said. “With the exception of one call, we had a chance to pick all those other ones up … I don’t know if it was just the flow of the game and the feel but I would definitely do it over again, we’d run the ball a little bit more in those scenarios.”
Georgia outscored Auburn 13-0 in the final two quarters, snuffing out the fledgling postseason hopes the Tigers held, and dropping them to 7-3 on the season with two games remaining.
They’ll aim to get back on track against Alabama A&M in the final home game of the season before traveling to Tuscaloosa the following week to try and topple the goliath.
White’s status isn’t set in stone, but he seems to be on track to play, and there aren’t any plans to sit out in order to rest up for the Iron Bowl.
“I want to play every chance I get,” White said. “I want to play at Jordan-Hare and with my teammates and play for Auburn. So I'm going to want to play as much as I can. But yes, the Iron Bowl is a week away and I want to be as healthy as I can for that, too. I think it's just going to be up to the trainers and the coaches and how I feel and everything that goes with that.”
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