Auburn’s Jeremy Johnson cleared a symbolic hurdle this week as the coaches named him the team’s starting quarterback.

Now the real work begins.

At 6-foot-5 and about 240 pounds, Johnson is a near carbon copy of Cam Newton during his Heisman Trophy season, at least in gym shorts. Johnson also reportedly ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash this offseason, comparing himself to Newton as a runner and talking of individual goals far larger than becoming Auburn’s starter.

Johnson does claim 73.1 percent accuracy in 78 college passes, and his accuracy should be near the top of the SEC even if it fades with a larger sample size. According to Bovada, Jeremy Johnson is 20/1 to win the Heisman Trophy, and may even represent good gambling value if Auburn can win the SEC West.

But as he exits spring practice, he’s not good enough if the season started today to meet some of his loftier goals.

“I thought he performed very well but he wasn’t exceptional (in the spring),” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “By exceptional, he hasn’t quite gotten to where he’s at his best and that’s where his goal is and where he wants to be. There’s still more in it for him and that’s what we’re going to keep working for.

“It’s like I told him yesterday, it’s just starting now. Now, the real work starts.”

Johnson would do well to make building rapport with receiver Duke Williams his top summer priority. The quarterback finished 14-of-22 at A-Day, but suffered several missed connections with his best wideout early in the game.

The two are talented enough to become the top pass-catch duo in the SEC in 2015 if they can develop good on-field chemistry.

Johnson’s arm could be his biggest asset, so he also would do well, as a junior with limited playing experience, to watch as much game video as possible and work hard at reading defenses and knowing the responsibilities of every player within Gus Malzahn’s offense on every play.

“He has a very live arm,” Lashlee said, according to Fox Sports. “He can throw it vertically very well, can also make all the intermediate throws well and also gets the ball out of his hands quick with the quick game and the bubble screens and those things, which is rare. He can do all three. He’s a big guy. He can throw in traffic, in tight pockets. He can see over people. He’s got a big NFL arm.”

Johnson’s speed, whether it’s legitimately 4.5 or not, is enough to keep defenses honest. In spite of his height, weight and burst, however, he’s not the same caliber runner as a Newton or a Nick Marshall.

Lashlee has described Johnson as a runner, to paraphrase, as a guy who can gain a lot of yards if he makes the right read with a quick decision into an open gap. But Johnson isn’t elusive like the previous Auburn starters in Malzahn’s system, and at least from what we’ve seen, he’s not as adept at using his big body to overpower defenders.

That’s not to say that Johnson is a bad runner, but the Auburn offense should evolve, perhaps featuring the read-option a little less often.

“Everybody’s got short-term memories. All people remember Nick Marshall for the past two years and Cam Newton, but some forget [Newton] threw for [almost] 3,000 yards and 30 TDs,” Lashlee told Fox Sports.

“For two years with Nick we were heavy zone-read, more than we’ve ever been. But look at Coach Malzahn and my track record over the last 20 years and those are the only guys who were ‘dual-threat’ guys. We’ve done really well with guys who’ve thrown the ball. We’ve been very balanced. People wonder how we’re gonna do? We’re gonna do fine. Our system isn’t going to change. We’re always going to adapt to the strength of our players.

“Both of those guys (Johnson and White) are pass-first guys. Jeremy’s more of a downhill guy than Nick, but they can both extend the play. And both, if they read the zone-read right, they’re going to make yards. If we need to run a QB draw, they can make yards.”

Now Johnson can focus on maximizing his abilities without worrying about a competition with Sean White.

A recent Montgomery Advertiser headline screamed “Jeremy Johnson aims for greatest year ever by Auburn QB.” In the piece, Lashlee said, essentially, that Johnson isn’t that good yet, and that while he appreciated Johnson’s drive, he’d prefer that his quarterback not omit important checkboxes that he’s yet to tick.

Slow down, young fella, his words seem to imply.

If Johnson puts those dreams on hold, stays in the present and gets to work this summer, Auburn could enter the fall as the SEC West co-favorites with Alabama as a true College Football Playoff contender.