Nov. 20, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Rhett Lashlee says he feels good about Auburn's starting quarterback in Saturday's Iron Bowl.
He just doesn't know who that'll be.
The Tigers' offensive coordinator said Sunday he's not sure if injured Sean White, who missed Auburn's weekend win over Alabama A&M, will be healthy enough to play at Alabama. Lashlee said Jeremy Johnson could start, as he did in the weekend victory, and Auburn will have John Franklin III as an option as well.
SoÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦ who's going to start?
"I don't know yet," Lashlee said. "I thought Jeremy and John both did a good job. They've been repping for us the last couple of weeks of practice when Sean hasn't been practicing. We'll see where Sean is in the process. We'll try to make a call, at least on our end, earlier in the week so we can prepare the way we need to but I wouldn't rule any of them out right now."
Lashlee also said he isn't sure if top rusher Kamryn Pettway would be available. He's missed the last two games with a leg injury.
"We're optimistic that a lot of the guys that didn't get to play will be back," Lashlee said.
White has the most quarterback stats, having hit 129-of-198 passes for 1,644 yards and nine touchdowns. But Johnson was 14-of-19 passing for 147 yards and touchdown in his first start of the season in the 55-0 win over Alabama A&M. Franklin played as well. He's rushed for 400 yards while throwing 15 passes this season.
White didn't play in the first half of the Vanderbilt game Nov. 5 because of a shoulder injury, then compounded the injury the next week against Georgia. He didn't dress for the Alabama A&M game.
He hasn't thrown a pass in practice three weeks.
"It's one thing to say: 'Can he throw the ball? Can he play at a level that he needs to play at to be at his best?'" Lashlee said. "The second thing is can he protect himself? We're going to make the best decision for him, first of all, health wise and for our team. The truth is what our doctors tell us is it's day-to-day with what our doctors tell us on a lot of our guys, unfortunately, as many guys as we had out last night."
Our stories from Auburn's win
- Game story: Auburn beats Alabama A&M
- Jeremy Johnson's big game - Rudy Ford: Defense...and offense, too - The defense stands tall - Freshman Kam Martin impresses - Auburn holds steady in the national polls
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine