White has a 'little mean streak to him'
AUBURN | For Sean White, being a leader comes naturally and that’s exactly what Auburn needs.
After a season of revolving quarterbacks and a three-way battle for the starting position during the offseason, White was named Auburn’s starter Thursday, nine days before the season opener against No. 2 Clemson.
“I feel blessed to be in this position and I feel responsible to lead this team against Clemson,” White said. “I’m happy that Coach put that responsibility on me and my teammates believe in me. I feel like they have a reason to believe in me. I think we’ll be ready to go come Saturday.”
At 6-foot and 200 pounds, White won’t wow you with his size and he’s not a track star on the field. He’s never been described with a cannon arm either, but there is an edge to him and a fiery competitiveness.
“I think Sean has a little mean streak to him. He's not going to back down from anybody,” running back Kerryon Johnson said. “He's a spicy player and he loves competition. That's the thing that people get out of playing with him. They really get that attitude that you can really feed off of as a team.”
The experience of starting five games last fall and then the long, drawn out competition over the last eight months, allowed White to grow and mature as a player.
“It’s a night and day difference for me,” White said. “Before the season I prepared hard, I wasn’t slacking, but I wasn’t preparing to go out there and start and lead the team until my name was called on. This year I have had all spring and all preseason to prepare to be the starter. I think that has been a huge difference as far as timing with receivers and just be able to just go out there and run the plays and not think and being able to lead everybody.
“With Ricardo (Louis) last year, he was out there for like three years and I’m coming in for my first game. It’s hard for me to get on him like ‘Hey man, do this and do that.’ Now I feel comfortable out there where I feel like I can lead the offense and lead the team.”
White is also prepared to take on the added responsibility of being the face of Auburn football. It’s something he’s talked in detail about with his father and Malzahn.
“You have to use your influence in a positive way. You have to use your position in a positive influence,” White said. “So any chance I get, if it’s a fan, a kid coming up that wants a towel or something after the game, I’m not going to be a jerk and walk away. It only takes two seconds to go ahead and talk to a little kid, and that might make his whole month.
“So just little stuff like that, and just helping out in the community and anything I can do, that’s huge for being the face of the program. I’d love to start doing even better and using my influence.”
