Auburn Football 2015: Winners and Losers from Tigers' Spring Practices, Game

Team Auburn defeated Team Tigers 24-14 in the program's 2015 A-Day. But as is always the case this time of year, the final score will pale in importance to a valuable spring that was only capped off by Saturday's scrimmage.

There are questions that remain regarding certain starting spots that may not be answered until the regular season, but a handful of players have helped their cause over the spring by standing out from the rest. It can be a discouraging time for others for the very same reason, as injuries and poor play can allow once-thought starters to lose playing time simply due to others stepping in front of them on the depth chart.

The fall is when it all comes together, but the foundation for great teams is laid in the spring. Auburn has plenty of foundation to lay on the heels of an 8-5 season and a complete re-tooling of the defense under Will Muschamp.

Now that spring football is in the books, let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the spring in The Plains.

Winner: Jeremy Johnson

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If Jeremy Johnson's place as the starting quarterback for 2015 and beyond wasn't already apparent enough, his strong spring capped off by Saturday's performance should have Auburn fans confident of who their leader will be on offense.

Johnson's athletic skill set seemed to translate better into replacing Nick Marshall than Sean White—whom Johnson has been splitting reps with this spring—but he's shown he can make all the throws as well. The deep ball that Marshall seemed to master as a senior was put on display by Johnson on more than a few occasions Saturday, as he threw two long touchdown passes.

Entering A-Day, the gunslinger felt that his work in leadership would pay off, per Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com: "I don't really say too much, but this year I've been changing my ways for my teammates. As a quarterback, they need to hear the leader of the whole team. That's what I've been doing this spring."

He only played in the first half on Saturday but showed more than enough amid 14-for-22 passing to indicate he's the guy moving forward. 

Loser: Jonathan Jones

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For a potential starter whose spot is far from solidified, a spring injury is far from the top of the priority list. Such is life for Jonathan Jones.

The senior cornerback enters 2015 as one of a few defensive backs who are expected to play a big role in the secondary, but things haven't been that simple this spring. Jones has missed most of the padded practices with a nagging foot injury, per Joel A. Erickson of AL.com, which also kept him out for A-Day.

It's hard to see Michael Sherwood supplanting him as starter, but the walk-on has at least made things interesting with a breakout spring that was validated with a huge spring game.

At the least, failing to get on the field for virtually all of spring practice will put Jones behind the 8-ball.

Winner: Myron Burton Jr.

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Auburn hasn't had a shortage of skill-position players to take over the scoring part of the offense, but D'haquille Williams and Ricardo Louis won't be able to replace the impact of Sammie Coates by themselves. With Melvin Burton Jr. playing like this, however, Auburn may not miss a beat offensively.

Burton was the story of the first half in the receiving game, catching six balls for 112 yards including a long touchdown grab. Not only did he show some chemistry with Johnson, but he also showed the ability to move the chains.

His outing came as no surprise to Malzahn, as per Sporting News' Justin Ferguson: "He had a good break before the bowl game, and he's had a lot of reps this spring. He just needs more experience."

Those spring reps seem to be paying off if A-Day is an indication.

Loser: Tony Stevens

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Tony Stevens arrived at Auburn as a prized recruit, but he's found it tough to break out amid a loaded group of skill-position players on the Plains. 2015 figured to be the year in which it all came together, but it hasn't started swimmingly.

Stevens' injury-plagued spring ended on a sour note as he didn't play during A-Day, but the Tigers didn't seem to miss a beat in his absence. Johnson instead built chemistry with Myron Burton Jr. and D'haquille Williams, as well as other receivers that he's been working with more often this spring.

The pressure is certainly on Stevens to produce this season, as offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee replied to a question of whether Stevens needs a breakout season with "it needs to be," per Columbus Ledger-Enquirer's Ryan Black.

Obviously, missed time this spring will do nothing to make the coaches or fans forget about Stevens and his potential. But allowing others to impress in your absence isn't how one helps his case over the spring.

Winner: Michael Sherwood

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On a team flooded with notable scholarship players and highly touted recruits, it's not often that a walk-on asserts himself as a potential starter. 

That's just what cornerback Michael Sherwood has done this spring as he makes a case for one of the starting spots. It continued into Saturday, as he led all defensive players with six tackles and made a big pass breakup.

The Tigers are thin at defensive back after T.J. Davis tore his ACL earlier this spring, and Jonathan jones' absence from Saturday's game opened up more playing time for Sherwood. That may doom him to a reserve role in 2015, but as told by his play during A-Day, even that will be of value for Muschamp and Co.

If this spring is any indication, though, Auburn won't be in all that bad of a position if Sherwood is thrust into a starting spot.

Loser: Will Muschamp

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New Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp probably envisioned a tough first spring game ahead, having to go up against Malzahn's high-powered offense that his group isn't quite on par with. As it turns out, those feelings weren't ill-advised.

While his defensive line produced six sacks between the two teams, he can't be happy with how his unit performed against Auburn's top two quarterbacks. Johnson and Sean White combined for more than 300 first-half passing yards, while both of Johnson's two touchdown passes were a product of poor coverage that doomed Auburn over the last two seasons.

It's not surprising that Muschamp needs some time in order to implement his system and get the right players, but many expected an immediate turnaround upon his arrival. That belief may have to be tempered a bit after Saturday's performance.