What history tells us about freshmen QB’s making their first start vs MSU
Yesterday, news broke that Auburn would be starting a new quarterback Saturday night in its game against Mississippi State. Auburn’s starting quarterback for the first three games of 2015, Jeremy Johnson, has been spectacularly unimpressive in three games, prompting head coach Gus Malzahn to make a change.
Enter redshirt freshman Sean White, a 6-0 200 pound pro style quarterback from Hollywood, Florida. White was a highly recruited 4 star player out of high school, ranked as the #8 quarterback in the country in the 2014 recruiting class. White will be taking his first snap ever in a collegiate football game.
Many Bulldog fans believe this is a positive development that greatly enhances MSU’s chance to win the game. Perhaps it does. But before you go penciling in a win for the Bulldogs, let us take a stroll down memory lane as a reminder that sometimes these situations do not turn out as expected.
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The date was October 17, 1992. Mississippi State was off to a 4-1 start and a #15 ranking, with SEC wins over Florida and Auburn, as they traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to meet the 0-5 Gamecocks. Included in those 5 losses were a 45-7 blowout loss to Arkansas and a 48-7 pounding at the hands of Alabama in its most recent game.
Desperate for something to salvage what had become a dreadful season, the Gamecocks turned to a true freshman to start his first collegiate game versus the Bulldogs. His name – Steve Tanneyhill. The brash young QB with the long hair led the Gamecocks to a 21-6 win that day over the highly favored Bulldogs, a team that would play in the Peach Bowl at the conclusion of the 1992 season. Tanneyhill’s exploits would lead to four more wins in 1992 as the Gamecock would finish 5-6 for the season.
So you’ll have to pardon me for not taking a great deal of comfort in the fact MSU will be facing a freshman quarterback starting his first game against the Bulldogs. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this particular movie. I’m just hoping the 2015 reprise has a much happier ending for the Bulldogs than the 1992 version.
Oh, and a footnote from that 1992 game. Then South Carolina head coach Sparky Woods would later become offensive coordinator for Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State during the 1999-2002 seasons.
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