Okay, I'ma throw some numbers and opinion in the mix. We have 3 QB's to choose from. I'll take Clifford Franklin out of the equation for this discussion for now, because we have absolutely zero to go on other than he's small, fast and 2nd string in JUCO. So we look at Jeremy Johnson and Sean White. As fans, what do we have to go on? For most, it's the eye test. The overwhelming majority of fans and analysts have long since written JJ off based on Heisman hype coming into 2015, with the product on the field looking more like an overwhelmed freshman. At least, early on.
Redshirt Frosh, Sean White, came in with a good bit of recruiting hype, having won the Elite 11 Competition, and took over for JJ when the wheels fell off early. At the end of the day, it's hard to distinguish between coulda', shoulda', woulda' and real time numbers. White got injured a couple of games in before we could really get a feel for what he was capable of. The road game at Arkansas was a contest that could have set the stage for a dramatic turn around. A minimum of 10 dropped passes in crucial situations resulted in an overtime loss, followed by an injury to White that effectively ended his season.
So what do we have to go on? Last year's numbers look like this:
Jeremy Johnson
12 Games Played 95-157 10 TD's 7 Int's. 60.5% 87.8 yds p/game
Rushing: 47 attempts 238 yds.
Sean White
7 Games Played 83-143 1 TD 4 Int's 58% 167 yds p/game
Rushing: 30-116
So coming down the last part of the season, with White gimping, JJ was 3-2 against Texas A&M, UGA, Idaho, Bama and Memphis (White started against Memphis but sucked royally) His (JJ's) numbers were:
51-82 537 yds. 5TD's 1 Int.
I say all this not to promote one over the other. If it were me, I'd prefer White to perform better and win the job simply from the standpoint of him still having 3 years at the helm, while JJ is moving on after this year. But....I do caution against writing Johnson off. He wasn't great down the stretch, but he was solid and efficient. What if he's taken the last few months to dedicate himself to going out on top, so to speak?
We'll know soon enough. I think by this weekend, we're going to know who will take the snaps against Clemson.
Thoughts?