Auburn announced early Monday morning that they have dismissed quarterback Sean White from the team. The Auburn police arrested White early Sunday morning. He had just finished serving a two-game suspension for undisclosed reasons according to the team.
White, a junior, started 16 games for Auburn in 2015 and ’16, completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,679 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Hours after Auburn’s 24-10 home victory over Mercer, Tigers quarterback Sean White was arrested and charged with public intoxication. According to AL.com, White, who is 21, was arrested at 2:45 AM, close to the downtown area in Auburn on Sunday on the 100 block of N Ross St., according to Auburn police assistant chief William Mathews.
This is another disappointing development for White. The Hollywood, Florida native started 10 games in 2016, but broke his forearm in their Sugar Bowl loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. Then, after recovering from surgery, White fell behind Baylor transfer stud Jarrett Stidham in the quarterback competition and had just returned to the team this week, only to be dismissed a couple of days later.
The report notes White’s condition as drunk, and that the arrest was “on view”, as opposed to in response to a call or for a warrant. At 3:28 A.M., White was put into Lee County Jail, where he was held on $500 bond, according to the police records. White was released Sunday morning on his own recognizance, according to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.
Auburn Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said in his statement about the situation, “Sean White is no longer a part of our football program at Auburn. He has made poor decisions that are not in the best interest of our program, and more importantly, himself. We appreciate his time at Auburn and wish him nothing but the best.”
White threw for 2,846 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions as the Tigers starting QB the past two years. He led the SEC in completion percentage in 2016 and helped the Tigers to a six-game winning streak too. He definitely had some high moments in his Auburn career.
With White’s departure, Auburn is now down to two scholarship quarterbacks, which is risky. They opened spring ball in with six QB’s on the roster: Stidham, White, freshman Malik Willis, John Franklin III, Woody Barrett, and Tyler Queen. The latter three transferred and Willis will now be the No. 2 behind Stidham for the remainder of the season.
There are no clues to where White goes from here. He is a good QB regardless of what anyone says. The thing that might hold him back from getting into another program is his prior records and arrests/suspensions. My prediction is he transfers down to a JUCO or lucky enough to get on lower D1 team.