Sept. 6, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Gus Malzahn says he's slowing the quarterback revolving door he took for a spin in Auburn's season opener.
Malzahn said Tuesday that Sean White will start his second consecutive game and get most of the playing time in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game against Arkansas State. Malzahn said John Franklin III will be the No. 2 quarterback.
Auburn rotated White, Franklin and Jeremy Johnson in last Saturday's 19-13 loss to Clemson game, including one play in which all three were on the field at the same time.
Malzahn said he wanted to catch Clemson off guard.
"Our plan was to be aggressive," Malzahn said. "We weren't as successful as I thought we'd be.
"We're moving forward with Sean White, and bringing along John Franklin."
Malzahn said Franklin will practice as the backup, not the Wildcat quarterback. Malzahn said Franklin is "very coachable... he moved the football. For the first time out there, I think he did a good job."
Malzahn said Franklin's play was good because he "got some experience."
"I think that's a bright spot, now that he's been out there. He knows how he's going to react. And our coaches know how's he going to react. We'll just see how the season unfolds as far he's concerned."
Malzahn said Johnson will be ready if called upon.
White took more snaps than the others last Saturday, completing 10 of 21 passes for 140 yards. Johnson hit 4 of 6 passes for 38 yards. Franklin hit his only pass for minus-3 yards.
"Sean is a tough guy, I think everybody knows that," Malzahn said. "Sean took some licks. He hangs in there. He can throw the ball down the field."
Malzahn also said tailback Kamryn Pettway will have a bigger role Saturday. He played sparingly and didn't get a carry against Clemson. Malzahn said defensive back Rudy Ford could also get more offensive snaps. The former running back was in on one offensive play last Saturday.
"It's something that we will see where that goes," Malzahn said. "He's electric with the ball in his hands. You can see that on kickoff returns. Originally he was a running back when we recruited him here. We will see where that goes, that was just one of the wrinkles coming in."
Malzahn's opinion of his defense changed -- to a more favorable reading.
"After watching the film, they even played better than I thought."
Overall, he said, "I think we have a chance to be really good."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twiter: Follow @AUGoldMine