Redshirt freshman Sean White will start for Auburn this Saturday against Mississippi State, ending for now Jeremy Johnson’s tenure as the team’s starting quarterback.

For Johnson, hailed by some in the offseason as a sleeper Heisman contender, it was a sudden fall from grace. It took just three games for Gus Malzahn and the Tiger staff to realize that the 6-5 junior wasn’t fit to run the offense. Johnson displayed poor mechanics, even poorer decisions and the demeanor and body language of a player unable to handle a gig of this magnitude.

But didn’t Malzahn see this coming months ago? It’s not as if Johnson’s throwing motion or feel for the position has suddenly tanked without any warning. Other than passing the eye test, there was absolutely nothing about Johnson’s game that screamed franchise quarterback in the loss to LSU and wins over Louisville and Jacksonville State.

Malzahn now has two important jobs as the architect of the offense; prepare White to be the type of game manager who limits mistakes and gives his team a shot to compete … and repair Johnson’s psyche and throwing motion.

There’s still hope and time for Johnson to develop into a competent quarterback, even if the learning curve is distinctly steeper than anyone anticipated. Even the Auburn program seems to have been caught off guard by Johnson’s poor start, which has been the biggest shock of all during this improbable three-week saga.