Auburn Quarterback Battle Expert Predictions

Posted by Eric Williams on Tuesday,August 16, 2016 5:43, EDT in

NCAA College Football News

The Auburn Tigers want to get back to being a legitimate national title contender in 2016, but before they can do that, head coach Gus Malzahn needs to find out who his starting quarterback will be this coming season. While the Tigers could suffer for their quarterback issues in 2016, you can cash in big by nailing the Tigers’ value-packed quarterback battle NCAA football odds.

In Depth Analysis On The Auburn Tigers Quarterback Battle Expert Predictions

Sean White +160

After becoming the first freshman quarterback in Auburn history to make his debut against an SEC opponent, sophomore signal-caller Sean White is out to prove that he belongs after replacing Jeremy Johnson as the starter in Week 4 of 2015.

White started five straight games last season, but he was never the same following the injury he suffered in the Tigers’ crushing 54-46 loss at Arkansas on Oct. 24. While White played in only two of the final five games of the regular season a year ago because of a knee injury, he’s got the inside track to retain his starting job right now.

John Franklin III +165

White has the inside track, but he’s not a lock, mostly because of the jaw-dropping talent of junior college transfer John Franklin III, the lone dual-threat signal-caller in this race.

“It’s just a matter of him just getting more comfortable,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after one recent scrimmage. “You can see him get more and more comfortable. We’re trying to throw more things at him. You see him get more comfortable. In the spring, he kind of had happy feet sometimes and was unsure of some things. Fall camp, he’s settled down. Every practice, you see him improving. My big deal with him is protecting the football.”

Jeremy Johnson +210

Johnson was recently injured, though not seriously and is clearly trailing both, White and Franklin III in the race for the starting quarterback position. Johnson struggled mightily a year ago when given the opportunity to be a full-time starter by throwing interceptions, inaccurate passes and generally failing to protect the football.

Expert Analysis and Prediction

Unless he starts throwing interceptions in practice like they’re going out of style over the next couple of weeks, I fully expect Sean White to win the starting quarterback job and build on his impressive start from last season. John Franklin III and Jeremy Johnson may have more raw athletic ability than White, but they’re both turnover prone right now and that’s something that Auburn can’t afford if they hope to get back to being a legitimate national title contender.