Ranking the Malzahn era: Quarterbacks
AUBURN | Gus Malzahn has used six starting quarterbacks during his seven seasons at Auburn. Below, we rank the group from 1-7.
1. Nick Marshall
The JUCO transfer led Auburn to one of its best-ever seasons and put up video game-like numbers in his two seasons as the starter. In 2013, Marshall engineered the Tigers’ SEC Championship and matchup against Florida State in the BCS championship game. He threw the 73-yard touchdown to Ricardo Louis on 4th and 18 to beat Georgia in the Prayer at Jordan-Hare, and two weeks later led AU to a win over Alabama in the Kick Six. While Auburn’s 2014 team under achieved to an extent, he threw for a school-record 456 yards and accounted for a school-record 505 yards of total offense at Alabama, but the Tigers still lost 55-44. Marshall finished 18-7 as AU’s starter and became only the third player in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000. He finished his career completing 320 of 532 passes for 4,508 yards with 34 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and rushing for 1,866 yards and 23 touchdowns on 325 carries. His 6,375 yards of total offense is sixth in school history (in only two seasons) and his 57 touchdowns responsible for rank third. Marshall is currently a cornerback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL.
2. Jarrett Stidham
Another two-year standout, the Baylor transfer started every game in the 2017 and 18 seasons and finished with an 18-9 record. The SEC Newcomer of the Year in 2017, Stidham led the conference in completion percentage (66.5 percent), finished second in Auburn single-season history with 3,158 passing yards and led the Tigers to wins over No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama at the end of the regular season. He completed an SEC-record 86.5 percent of his passes against Mercer and set a school record with 18 consecutive completions. Stidham’s numbers dipped a bit in 2018, but he did have a stretch of 162 passing attempts without an interception, which set a school record at the time. He finished his AU career completing 470 of 739 passes (63.6 percent) for 5,592 yards with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Stidham will be competing to be the New England Patriots starting quarterback this fall.
3. Bo Nix
The thing with Nix is he could top this list after next season. The highest-rated quarterback signee of the Malzahn era, Nix started every game as a true freshman in 2019 leading Auburn to a 9-4 record including a dramatic 48-45 win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Nix earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors setting Auburn freshman records with 217 completions, 377 attempts, 2,542 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also rushed for 313 yards and seven touchdowns. Nix will enter his sophomore season with a school-record 191 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. He’ll also be under the guidance of proven offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chad Morris, who is expected to bring more production to Auburn’s passing attack.
4. Sean White
When healthy, which unfortunately wasn’t nearly often enough, White put up some impressive numbers for the Tigers. He was 9-7 as a starter before losing the job to Stidham in 2017 and being dismissed from the team three games into the season. White finished his Auburn career completing 216 of 351 passes (61.5 percent) for 2,845 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He led the SEC with a .639 completion percentage in 2016, and became the first Auburn quarterback to throw for 250 or more yards in three consecutive games in 2015 since Dameyune Craig in 1997. He also had a streak of 94 pass attempts without an interception in 15. White played through various knee and shoulder injuries and suffered a broken arm against Oklahoma in the 2016 Sugar Bowl, his final game at AU.
5. Jeremy Johnson
While it’s easy to forget now, Johnson actually got his career off to a great start as Marshall’s backup in 2013 and 14. He started and won games against Western Carolina in 13 and Arkansas in 14, combining to complete 29 of 37 passes (78.4 percent) for 444 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t fare as well entering the 2015 season as the full-time starter, being replaced by White after three games. Johnson ended up starting 11 games in his Auburn career and compiling a 7-4 record in those starts. He completed 179 of 282 passes (63.5 percent) for 2,224 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his four seasons.
6. John Franklin
Franklin started one career game against Vanderbilt in 2016. Trailing 13-10 at halftime, White was inserted at quarterback and led the Tigers to a 23-16 win. Franklin was 2 of 4 for 9 yards passing and carried the ball seven times for 59 yards in his lone start. He finished his one year at Auburn completing 14 of 26 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown, and rushing for 430 yards and two more touchdowns. He’s been able to hang in the NFL the past couple of seasons and is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
MORE MALZAHN RANKINGS