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AUBURN, Ala. -- Jeremy Johnson is Auburn's new starting QB, but I expect him to be among the top quarterbacks in the SEC and one of the best in the entire country in 2015. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder told me the biggest areas he's improved from last season are his command of the offense as well as becoming a more vocal leader.
The coaches love Johnson's arm, not just in terms of velocity but his touch and accuracy.
"He has a very live arm," said OC Rhett Lashlee. "He can throw it vertically very well, can also make all the intermediate throws well and also gets the ball out of his hands quick with the quick game and the bubble screens and those things, which is rare. He can do all three. He's a big guy. He can throw in traffic, in tight pockets. He can see over people. He's got a big NFL arm."
The guy also has enough speed to keep defenses honest in the run game and to extend plays from the pocket. Johnson told me he's been clocked at 4.53 in the 40-yard dash. He'll also have the luxury of relying on arguably the top receiver in the conference in Duke Williams.
Johnson is one of the guys I would categorize as a breakout player to watch in 2015.
Here are a few other takeaways from my visit with the Tigers.
Auburn's offense will adapt fine to new personnel
It's not a surprise that Johnson won the job, but it wasn't by default. Both Gus Malzahn and Lashlee were also very pleased by what they've seen from redshirt freshman Sean White, a Floridian who throws an excellent deep ball but also anticipates well and has great accuracy. White may not have the speed Nick Marshall had and wasn't labeled as a "dual-threat" QB coming out of high school, but don't say he's not a good fit for the Tiger offense.
"We build our offense around our quarterback's strength's," Malzahn said. "We adapt. At Tulsa, we had a QB who threw for 5,000 yards. The next one threw for 4,600 or 4,700. When we got here, Chris Todd broke the school record for TD passes. We adapt to our quarterback, and Sean White runs better than people think and Jeremy Johnson runs better than people think, too."
There's a huge misconception about the Auburn offense right now, said Lashlee. "Everybody's got short-term memories. All people remember Nick Marshall for the past two years and Cam Newton, but some forget [Newton] threw for [almost] 3,000 yards and 30 TDs. For two years with Nick we were heavy zone-read, more than we've ever been. But look at Coach Malzahn and my track record over the last 20 years and those are the only guys who were 'dual-threat' guys. We've done really well with guys who've thrown the ball. We've been very balanced. People wonder how we're gonna do? We're gonna do fine. Our system isn't going to change. We're always going to adapt to the strength of our players.
"Both of those guys (Johnson and White) are pass-first guys. Jeremy's more of a downhill guy than Nick, but they can both extend the play. And both, if they read the zone-read right, they're going to make yards. If we need to run a QB draw, they can make yards."
Two new additions to watch on offense
Two years ago, in Malzahn's first season as Auburn's head coach, the Tigers led the nation in rushing at 328 yards per game on a 6.3 yard-per-carry average. Those numbers dipped to 255 and 5.5 last season. The Tigers missed the terrific Tre Mason, no doubt, but an added reason why their run game -- and their offense -- wasn't quite as potent in 2013 was the fact the Tigers also missed bruising H-back Jay Prosch. Towards that end, the Auburn coaches feel like they have improved at that position from last season.
In fact, the first thing Lashlee brought up when I asked him about some of the better developments he's seen this spring were Kamryn Pettway (a redshirt last season) and early enrollee Chandler Cox. "They've both done a very good job," said Lashlee. "They're physical, athletic and savvy. We're gonna be really good at that position, which is a big part of our offense."
Auburn's O-line gets a boost
Among the eight departed offensive starters, the biggest mainstay had been center Reese Dismukes, the 2014 Rimington Trophy winner. But in Ole Miss transfer Austin Golson, who sat out last season and is now eligible to play, Auburn has a bigger, more physical presence, which along with the Tigers' guards figures to give Malzahn more push in the middle of the line.
The former Rebels guard, though, is still just learning the center position, but he really impressed folks inside the program this spring. "You can see him getting better and better each week," said Lashlee. "He's 6-4, very athletic and very smart. He's gonna be a really good player."
The Tigers add another weapon
Keep an eye on former JUCO QB Jason Smith, who arrived in time for spring ball and flashed some big-play potential when moved to wideout. The 6-1, 185-pounder played receiver in the Alabama-Mississippi High School All-Star Game and won MVP honors after making six catches for 134 yards. "He's so quick and such a great athlete," said Johnson. "He's really hard to cover in space. He's gonna help us a lot."
Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FOX Sports 1. He is also a New York Times Bestselling author. His new book, The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks, came out in October 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BruceFeldmanCFB.
