Jeremy Johnson made the most of his first real opportunity in nearly a year. The senior quarterback, who has endured a tumultuous final two years at Auburn, was efficient and productive during Auburn's 55-0 win against Alabama A&M, which marked his first start since last season's Iron Bowl.

The question now is whether Saturday's win on Senior Night was Johnson's final opportunity to play quarterback in an Auburn uniform.

With starting quarterback Sean White battling an injury to his throwing shoulder, the third-year sophomore's status for next week's Iron Bowl against top-ranked Alabama remains up in the air. Coach Gus Malzahn said following Auburn's win against Alabama A&M that the team will "see where we're at" in regards to White in the coming days and then make a decision on what to do at quarterback against the Crimson Tide.

"We're not ready to make that call yet," Malzahn said.

White has not thrown in practice in three weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury during the Tigers' in against Ole Miss late last month. Whether he will be ready for the regular-season finale against archrival Alabama remains to be seen after White reaggravated the shoulder during Auburn's loss to Georgia last week.

If White can't play again, Auburn will have to turn to either Johnson or John Franklin III. Although Johnson got the nod on Senior Night against Alabama A&M, Franklin has been White's backup for the duration of the season.

One thing does seem certain, at least: Johnson is confident he will be prepared if called upon in his final regular-season game.

"We're going to see what happens next week, see how he's feeling, but if I'm called upon, I'm going to be ready," Johnson said. "There's no fear -- no fear in me or the team. It's just another game, another opportunity to shock the world."

Making just his third appearance of the season, and his first on offense since the season opener, Johnson completed 14-of-19 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown against Alabama A&M while adding another two scores on the ground during the Tigers' 55-0 win. It was the first time Johnson attempted a pass since the season opener against Clemson, when Malzahn implemented an ill-fated three-quarterback rotation in the 19-13 loss.

It was an efficient and welcomed performance from Johnson, who has endured a lot during his last two seasons at Auburn. After being groomed for two years as the heir apparent to Nick Marshall, Johnson was billed as a preseason Heisman contender prior to the 2015 season. After a disastrous three-game span to open the year, he lost his starting job to White and the luster on his once-promising career began to fade.

He worked his way back late in the year when White sustained an injury, starting the final four regular-season games of 2015 for Auburn, and then entered the offseason vying for the starting job once again. After what was the longest quarterback competition of Malzahn's coaching career, Johnson found himself as the odd man out, relegated to the sideline for much of his senior season.

Despite the way the competition shook out, Johnson, White and Franklin maintained there was never any ill will among the trio, only love. It was a sentiment Johnson reiterated Saturday night after dedicating his performance to White, whom he credited with guiding Auburn to where it is this season.

"Sean is like my brother," Johnson said. "As a matter of fact, he's my blood brother. We're roommates when we go to travel. He loves me. I love him. We tell each other every day. We're just tight."

White is the obvious choice at quarterback for Auburn if healthy, as Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have made it clear that he is their guy. He has completed 65.2 percent of his passes this season for 1,644 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. White leads the SEC and ranks 15th nationally in completion percentage.

"At this point it's just being able to officially practice probably more than anything," Malzahn said. "We'll see where that's at. I'm not ready to predict how he's going to feel in a day or two, or how he's going to do. I'll definitely make a comment on that Tuesday and probably Thursday, also."

If he can't go against Alabama, it becomes a bit of a conundrum for Auburn.

Although Franklin has been White's primary backup all season and has continued to learn the full playbook during practice, he has struggled passing the football. Franklin, a dual-threat option who has rushed for 400 yards this season -- including 81 yards on Saturday -- has completed just 9-of-15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown as Auburn's offense becomes more one-dimensional when he is at the helm. Earlier this month, following the Tigers' win against Vanderbilt, Commodores coach Derek Mason described Auburn's offense as "more Wildcat than anything else" when Franklin is in the game.

"He can really run; there's no doubt about that," Malzahn said. "... He's a good change of pace. When he comes into the game, it's a little bit different, and a lot of times the defense plays a little bit different."

Johnson, meanwhile, is a more traditional passer. He eclipsed the 2,000-yard career mark against Alabama A&M, and has completed 65 percent (170-of-260) of his career pass attempts while throwing 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is also 7-3 all-time as Auburn's starting quarterback.

"I'm very prepared," Johnson said. "It's just another game, another opportunity. I mean, they're a great team. A lot of people respect them, but we don't look at them no differently than any other team."

If White isn't healthy enough to play, Saturday's performance against Alabama A&M certainly boosts Johnson's confidence heading into the Iron Bowl if he is indeed called upon to start one final time.

"I'm just going to do what I do," Johnson said. "There's no surprise, no secret. They're a great team, well-respected, but it's football and as a team we feel good and feel like we got a chance."