Jeremy Johnson will make biggest career start in Auburn season opener

• Montgomery native went 29-for-41 for 422 yards with six touchdowns in 2013
• Former Alabama Mr. Football to start first SEC game

AUBURN – The Gus Bus is going back to The Future.

Jeremy Johnson, the heir apparent at quarterback for the Tigers, will make the biggest start of his career when Auburn hosts Arkansas on Aug. 30.

The former G.W. Carver star will start his first SEC game as Nick Marshall is benched as a result of his citation for possession of marijuana last month.

"Me and (offensive coordinator) Rhett (Lashlee) decided Jeremy Johnson was going to have a bigger role regardless this year," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after Friday's opening practice of preseason camp. "We've talked about him and his ability and how we feel about him. We feel very good about our quarterback position as a whole."

Johnson went 29-for-41 for 422 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions as a true freshman last season. The former Alabama Mr. Football started just one game, against lowly Western Carolina, and played three quarters against Florida Atlantic.

Now he'll be thrust into the biggest game of his life.

Coaches and teammates don't expect a difference in the offense with Johnson at the helm rather than Marshall.

"There's no change at all," wideout Ricardo Louis said. "We'll keep doing what we've been doing."

Tight end C.J. Uzomah called Johnson one of the "leaders" of the team, despite his youth, during SEC Media Days.

He'll have plenty of support around him, with Louis, Sammie Coates and D'haquille Williams among the weapons he can throw to and Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant to hand off to.

"He's a great quarterback too, so I don't think that will be a big issue," said center Reese Dismukes, who will likely repeat as the offensive captain this season.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Montgomery native, who was not available for interviews, took reps with the second-team offense on Friday, but there are still four weeks until the opener and the Tigers don't practice in pads until Tuesday, the fifth day of practice.

"We're very comfortable with him back there," Louis said. "With him starting (and playing in) a couple games last year and showing that he can start and play quarterback for us, we're a lot more confident in him."