Sean White was on the second unit and junior college transfer John Franklin III was on the third team. Johnson eventually lost the starting job in 2015 to White after struggling early in the season.
Granted, the open portion of the practice lasted just 30 minutes. Still, Johnson was the “starter” for the part of practice that the media is allowed to view, and coach Gus Malzahn knew that Johnson being the starter was going to be one of the takeaways from practice.
Malzahn had said the quarterback battle was “wide open” heading into spring. The Tigers will add dual-threat quarterback prospect Woody Barrett to the battle over the summer.