On Saturday inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, Jarrett Stidham got his first chance to play football in a scrimmage situation in a year. Woody Barrett and Malik Willis got their first chances to go live under the watchful eyes of coach Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

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Sean White could only stand on the sidelines and watch.

White is a rising redshirt junior and Auburn’s incumbent starting quarterback, but this spring, he’s playing from behind.

The two quarterbacks White competed with for former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s affection last spring and fall — Jeremy Johnson (graduated) and John Franklin III (moved to wide receiver) — are out of the picture, but Stidham (the Baylor transfer), Barrett and Willis (the redshirt and true freshmen) are very much in it.

And while that trio has been full-go all spring trying to learn Lindsey’s offense in the coordinator’s first year back on the Plains, White has been limited to non-contact work as he continues to work his way back from a broken right forearm suffered in the Sugar Bowl.

“As a competitor, you want to be out there and playing,” White said in his first comments to the media since Jan. 2. “I feel like the underdog as far as I can't get out there and get reps. That's the hardest part. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can without getting actual team reps in 7-on-7 and getting timing down. We'll see what happens.”

When White first suffered the hit near the goal line on the first drive against Oklahoma, he thought he was dealing with bruise. When the pain began to intensify as the game went on, he started to think, “You got to be kidding me.”

Two months earlier, the sophomore signal-caller had risen to the top of the SEC leaderboards in both completion percentage and efficiency rating as he led the Tigers on a six-game winning streak that had them briefly in the College Football Playoff discussion. But White suffered a throwing shoulder injury on Oct. 29 at Ole Miss which severely limited him against Vanderbilt and Georgia and cost him the final two games of the season against Alabama A&M and Alabama.

Auburn lost two of those four games. The Sugar Bowl was his first game back.

“It was a tough pill to swallow, but it is what it is,” said White, who threw for 1,679 yards and nine touchdowns last season. “I’m fighting my way back.”

White underwent surgery not long after the game, getting a plate inserted into his right forearm to help it heal. The rehab process included rest to “get the bone right,” bone stimulators to speed up the process and plenty of work in the training room trying to get his forearm strength back.

The Boca Raton, Florida, native, who sports a scar on the underside of that right arm, said he has recovered enough that he’s been able to throw as much as he wants in individual and 7-on-7, non-contact drills. But he won’t be cleared for contact work until the summer.

“We don’t want to put him in a situation in 11-on-11 where somebody hits his arm and all that, but I will say he’s progressing well,” Malzahn said. “I know Chip’s been impressed with him, with his retention. Obviously, he played last year, so he’s very familiar with things, and even the new concepts, he’s familiar with. He’s off to a good start, but he’s limited.”

So on days like Saturday, and most likely the April 8 A-Day game, too, White will be held out of the action. But he’s keenly aware of what’s going on around him in the competition for the starting quarterback job.

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On Stidham, White said “he looks good out there and comfortable and seems to know the offense.” On Willis, he said “he has a lot of similarities playing-wise to how Nick (Marshall) used to play.”

Stidham said the relationship between all four quarterbacks has “been awesome.” White said he is still getting to know Stidham, but that he seems like “a good guy, works hard and is a good competitor.”

The injury hasn’t eliminated White from the competition. Malzahn and Lindsey have reiterated throughout the spring that they aren’t going to name a starting quarterback until after White is cleared and able to fully go through practice, even if that may not happen until the fall.

That’s still the only thing on White’s mind. Asked how tough it would be if he had to be the backup next season, he said “I haven’t even really thought about it at this point.”

“I want to be the starter,” White continued. “I think the coaches and stuff have done me right and given me a fair chance.”