Jeremy Johnson Saving Auburn's Season Creates Big QB Battle This Offseason

Had I told you two months ago that quarterback Jeremy Johnson would play a big part in saving Auburn's season in mid-November, you probably would have told me that I was crazy.

And maybe some other, more colorful thing.

Yet here we are, with Johnson—who had been benched since Week 3 save for a few snaps as a changeup quarterback—serving as Auburn's (5-4, 2-4 SEC) savior during Saturday night's 26-10 win at No. 19 Texas A&M.

His stat line (13-for-17 for 132 yards and a touchdown) doesn't exactly jump off the page. Make no mistake, though: By starting the game 9-for-9 with a touchdown and leading his team on two straight touchdown drives to open the game, he allowed Auburn to control the game early.

It never let up.

"That's how it was supposed to have been," Johnson said, according to Charles Goldberg of Auburn's official site. "My teammates believed in me whether I was sitting or starting. They've been telling me all week, and in the locker room before the game, 'I believe in you.' I just took that to heart."

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

That creates quite an interesting scenario on the Plains not only during the month of November but in bowl practices Auburn likely earned due to Johnson leading his team to win No. 5 in College Station—and a sure-fire win with Idaho left on the schedule.

Despite a 2-3 record as a starter, redshirt freshman Sean White has been pretty solid in a pinch and has progressed nicely as Auburn established an offensive identity when it needed it most.

Before being forced out of action on Saturday with various lingering injuries, White had completed 74 of his 125 passes for 1,063 yards, one score and had been plagued by his receivers having stone hands.

While Johnson's game vs. Texas A&M was solid, White has done enough to avoid being "Wally Pipp'ed" and losing his job due to injury down the stretch this year.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

The battle at quarterback during bowl practices and this offseason in Auburn, though, got cranked up a notch this week. A loose Johnson looked good on the road in a tough environment in a pinch, and that could be the first step toward realizing potential that was discussed prominently last offseason.

"That's the biggest thing I was missing at the beginning of the season," he said, according to Goldberg. "I was just too uptight. Keeping a smile on my face made things better."

So what will Auburn do?

Head coach Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee likely have to get both reps during the final three games vs. Georgia, Idaho and Alabama so they can hit the ground running in bowl practices.

David Stephenson/Associated Press

There's another curveball coming to the Plains, too.

The Tigers got a commitment from junior college dual-threat stud John Franklin III this week. The former Florida State and current East Mississippi Community College standout threw seven touchdowns, tossed two picks, rushed for 451 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games, according to NJCAA.org.

As Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com noted last week, Franklin—who acted as former Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall on Florida State's scout team in December 2013 leading up to the 2014 BCS National Championship Game—provides the run threat Auburn lacks from its current quarterbacks.

Franklin—who will be a junior next year—won't enroll until January, which leaves Johnson and White two months to sort out the current depth chart and provide the best counterpunch to Franklin's ability as a dual-threat weapon.

Thanks to Johnson's performance on Saturday, Auburn will likely get those critical 15 bowl practices this December to help the offense grow.

Get ready, because you're going to hear a lot about Auburn's quarterback depth chart over the next nine months.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.