Enough QB Battle, Sean White Should Be Auburn's Permanent Starter

Plan A didn't work for Auburn, but Plan B seems to be coming along nicely.

Starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson was benched after throwing six picks and only five touchdowns in three games. Redshirt freshman Sean White replaced him.

It wasn't permanent, though.

Head coach Gus Malzahn opened up the quarterback competition during the bye week after White posted a 1-1 record that included a home loss to Mississippi State in which the Tigers didn't score a touchdown. On the SEC coaches' teleconference on Wednesday, Malzahn said the position was still up in the air.

He found his permanent starter on Thursday.

White went 17-for-27 for 255 yards, zero touchdowns and zero picks in a 30-27 win at Kentucky on Thursday night, which improved Auburn's record to 4-2 (1-2 SEC).

Not bad for a freshman anywhere, much less one making the first road start of his career in front of a hostile crowd on national television. And he didn't know he'd be the starter until the day of the game.

Despite that, Malzahn played coy with his quarterback position after the game, according to James Crepea of AL.com.

White looked poised, confident and delivered clutch throw after clutch throw, which is a big reason why Auburn went 11-for-18 on third downs against the Wildcats and built a 23-10 halftime lead.

On the first two drives alone, White converted four third-down opportunities with his arm.

Not only did White help get Auburn a much-needed conference win and provide a little balance to an offense that was sorely lacking in that department through five games, he was the catalyst for big plays.

He completed three passes of 20 or more yards on the first two drives of the game—all to senior wide receiver Ricardo Louis, who finished the night with seven catches and a career-high 154 receiving yards.

For reference, Auburn had an SEC-worst seven passing plays of 20 or more yards through its first five games of the season.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The open battle during the bye week clearly helped White develop, and now's the time for Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to build on that and keep White in the role from here on out.

He has the talent. He showed off his arm strength and accuracy all night long vs. Kentucky, and those two attributes were big reasons why he was named the 2013 Elite 11 MVP and MVP of the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game as a high schooler at University Nova South High School in Boca Raton, Florida.

Ken Mastrole, his private high school coach since eighth grade before White enrolled at Auburn, wasn't surprised.

The door was open for White from the moment Johnson began struggling this year.

He elbowed his way through it prior to the bye week.

After the bye week against Kentucky, White kicked his way through that door, slammed it behind him, locked it and threw away the key.

White should be Auburn's quarterback for the rest of the season. If he continues to progress the way he did while battling Johnson during the bye week, the future looks bright for White and the Tigers.

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.