At the start of the season, Jeremy Johnson was the clear frontrunner to lead an Auburn team with championship expectations.

There were even talks of him winning the Heisman. The QB position wasn’t in question.

But Johnson struggled mightily early in the year and was benched for redshirt freshman Sean White. White wasn’t great for the Tigers, but he wasn’t terrible either. But then he suffered a knee injury, and in came Johnson again.

Over the three games that Johnson has filled in as the starter, he has had two mediocre performances and one bad outing. He led the Tigers to a win over Texas A&M with 132 yards and a touchdown, threw for only 61 yards and an interception in a loss against Georgia and had 163 yards and two TDs against Idaho.

But now, with the Iron Bowl looming, it looks like White will be ready to go.

So what does Auburn do? The Tigers coaching staff might not be sure.

“He’s getting better,” Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said of Johnson in Monday’s news conference. “I like where he’s at. I think Sean’s getting healthier. We know we’re probably going to need both of those guys.”

There are positives and negatives in running a dual QB system. The first advantage is forcing Alabama to prepare for both. As Auburn gets set to take on the No. 3 defense in the country, it can use any help it can get.

The second advantage is that each quarterback brings a different skill set to the table. Johnson can be mobile and make plays with his legs, while White appears more comfortable in the pocket.

The negatives are obvious. Most teams shy away from using two quarterbacks because it’s hard to maintain offensive chemistry and consistency. White has been the better of the two so far.

Ideally, Auburn would have one quarterback emerge as a leader and consistent playmaker.

But that hasn’t happened. So the best bet for the Tigers may be to prepare both quarterbacks to play, give both an opportunity and stick with the one who produces the best results.

There’s an advantage to making the Tide prepare for two different quarterbacks. And with two inconsistent candidates, its best to give both an opportunity early in the game and settle on the most successful. Or if both play well, continue a rotation and force the Tide defense to adjust.