Auburn Spring Football

Auburn quarterback Sean White goes through Tiger Walk before A-Day on Saturday, April 8, 2017 in Auburn, Ala.

Every time Sean White’s career at Auburn takes a step forward, it seems to follow with two steps back.

White took over for Jeremy Johnson as the team’s starting quarterback in Week 4 of the 2015 season, but lasted only five games before suffering injuries that would sideline him for four of the next five games.

The Boca Raton, Fla., native was named the Tigers’ Week 1 starter nine days before last season after beating out Johnson and John Franklin III, but played only a few snaps before getting replaced in a quarterback carousel that saw all three signal-callers play in a loss to Clemson.

Even when White found success, it didn’t last: Last year, during Auburn’s midseason six-game winning streak, the redshirt sophomore completed nearly 73 percent of his passes for 1,107 yards and totaled eight touchdowns. But a shoulder injury suffered in the fifth game at Ole Miss ended up limiting him in a loss at Georgia and costing him the final two games of the regular season.

Two weeks later, the quarterback who would eventually take White’s job — Jarrett Stidham — committed to Auburn.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn named Stidham the starting quarterback on Monday and said that White would be the team’s backup. In the battle between the redshirt junior and true freshman Malik Willis for that spot, the head coach said, there was “really not a debate.”

“Sean White is a guy that we have a lot of confidence in. obviously, has won games, has performed extremely well at a high level in this league when he’s been healthy,” Malzahn said. “Sean is a great competitor. Sean is very mature. He's going to do everything in his power to help this team win.”

White was given a chance to keep hold of the starting job he ended last season with. He spent the spring limited to noncontact work as he continued to recover from a fractured right forearm suffered in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl — another one of those steps back — but Malzahn and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey maintained throughout that they wouldn’t name a starter without seeing White back at full strength, first.

He was this fall, going through eight practices and two scrimmages with no limitations. But it wasn’t enough to overcome Stidham, who has done little but impress since he joined the Tigers in December.

“I’m not going to say it was really anything that Sean really fell short of. As a matter of fact, like I said earlier, I’m confident that Sean is better right now than he was last year,” Malzahn said. “I think it’s more of Jarrett. Jarrett performed at an extremely high level. I don’t think it’s anything I would say negatively about Sean.”

Along with being lauded for his leadership ability, work ethic and study habits, Stidham excelled on the field, completing 16 of 20 passes for 267 yards and rushing for a touchdown on A-Day.

“He’s smart, he’s athletic, he’s got a good arm, he’s got all the tools and everything,” White said of Stidham after that performance. “At the end of the day, he plays for Auburn just like you. So when he throws a good pass, I get excited. How could you not? He plays for your team. That’s how I look at it. We’re playing on the same team.”

White, not yet cleared for contact at that point, watched A-Day from the sideline. He’ll start his redshirt junior season there, too. But, per Stidham, the team’s new backup quarterback was “nothing but supportive” after the decision was announced.

And, at the very least, White does give Auburn arguably the most experienced and proven backup quarterback in the SEC, if not the country. There aren’t many teams that can boast a second-stringer who completed 63.9 percent of their passes for 1,679 yards and nine touchdowns in 2016.

“Sean White could start for a whole lot of teams in this league,” Malzahn said. “The quarterback depth right now is very high.”