What to Make of Auburn Tigers' Freshman Quarterback Walker White

The highly touted recruit hasn't been getting a lot of reps expected of him when he first arrived at Auburn

The top freshman quarterback had a lot of hype coming into this year, but has yet to see valuable reps or playing time / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

Quarterback Walker White was one of the highlighted prospects in the Auburn Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class.  

Expectations for the top-50 player of the 2024 class, and he was able to leverage his position to actively recruit top prospects to join him on the Plains. He is likely part of the reason Auburn was able to flip wide receivers Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson.

Despite this, White has seemingly become overshadowed for a few reasons. One is that Hank Brown impressed ahead of the season and earned the backup spot over him. That took away opportunities for reps.

White has not appeared in a game for the Tigers this season and his primary role has been with the scout team. This makes it harder for White to get practice reps with the other quarterback during the season.

Another reason is the potential top quarterback prospect that recently committed to Auburn.

Deuce Knight, a top-10 quarterback recruit from the 2025 class, the according to the 247Sports, flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn on Oct. 2.

Freeze holds White in a high regard but getting him the needed work in has been difficult.  

“It’s a challenge,” Freeze said. “The good thing is, Walker is a self-motivator, and he doesn’t have to be asked to do work. He’s going to stay after with you and get some extra work in with footwork drills and different drills that the quarterback coaches have for him. As far as getting quality reps this time of year is very difficult.”

Being a true freshman, White has time to make a case for himself for the starting job in the future. With Payton Thorne in his final year of eligibility, the job will be up for grabs. This could work out well for White timing wise as it will be his second spring practice with the Tigers.

“Everybody wants to play now, but the norm has never been that, particularly at the quarterback position,” Freeze said. “It’s usually that second spring they truly start coming into their own.”

Freeze had a good relationship with White, meaning White will be more likely to hear out Freeze’s plan for him and remain patient instead of hitting the transfer portal like many players in this situation would consider.

“I do spend a decent amount of time talking with Walker  just about the future and quarterback play and leadership,” Freeze said. “I don’t have to seek him out, he makes himself readily available.”

With the race for Auburn’s starting quarterback job expected to be wide-open in the spring, White will have a chance to show that he is the man for the job and can lead the team’s offense.