Now Is Not the Time for Auburn to Start Sean White over Jeremy Johnson

Three games into the 2015 season, the Jeremy Johnson experiment is apparently over at Auburn.

At least, for now.

After the junior signal-caller threw six interceptions in three games, lost his confidence and looked as uncomfortable in the pocket as any quarterback in college football, head coach Gus Malzahn announced Tuesday that redshirt freshman Sean White will make the start for the 2-1 Tigers this Saturday in a critical matchup with 2-1 Mississippi State.

Malzahn commented on the switch—which certainly seems like a panic move—during his press conference Tuesday, according to Tom Green of the Opelika-Auburn News and Jason Caldwell of Inside the Auburn Tigers:

White brings plenty of accolades.

The 6'0", 200-pound pro-style passer from Boca Raton, Florida, was the MVP of the 2013 Elite 11 quarterback camp, MVP of the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game and a 4-star prospect in the class of 2014. During his senior season at University School, White completed 159 of his 259 passes for 2,656 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.

That's all well and good, but he has yet to take a snap in a college football game. Now Malzahn and the Auburn staff are expecting him to lead a team that's looked mediocre all year to a win against an SEC West foe in a game that essentially serves as an elimination contest in the Tigers' half of the division?

No thanks.

Sure, Johnson has been a headache seemingly from the moment he trotted out on the field vs. Louisville in the season opener. He hasn't been able to read simple underneath coverage, stares down receivers and—as indicated by his happy feet in the Vine below—is clearly rattled.

But he did run well in the second half last week in Baton Rouge vs. LSU, including a 65-yard scamper up the gut that went for a touchdown. That's something to build off of as Auburn heads into this weekend's critical matchup against head coach Dan Mullen's Bulldogs.

Getting through the Mississippi State game with an oversimplified, multidimensional rushing attack is more likely with Johnson—a guy who's received first-team reps since the end of spring practice—than it is with a completely untested freshman, no matter how good he was in high school.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press/Associated Press

The time for Auburn to make a quarterback change isn't this week; it's next week vs. San Jose State. Knee-jerk quarterback changes can do more harm than good, like Alabama's decision to start Cooper Bateman last week vs. Ole Miss and LSU's decision to start Brandon Harris at Auburn last season. Well-timed quarterback changes—like Texas A&M going to Kyle Allen against Louisiana-Monroe last year—have a much better chance of working out.

No matter who starts Saturday, it's clear Auburn needs to re-evaluate its quarterback position. But the game vs. the Spartans is a much more appropriate place—especially with the bye week immediately after—than an SEC West elimination tilt.

What's more likely this time next week, White proving that he's the savior in his first significant action against an SEC defense or Malzahn having two quarterbacks who lack confidence? The latter.

It hasn't worked with Johnson, and that's obvious. It's also obvious that a change needs to be considered at the appropriate time.

But the fact that Malzahn pulled the trigger and made the change to White on such a critical week for this year's Auburn Tigers is an indication that an enormous level of panic has set in on the Plains.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. 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.