Gus Malzahn knows what a divisive quarterback situation looks like.

He saw it first-hand during his first season coaching at the college level at Arkansas in 2006, after which he left for Tulsa.

Other members of Auburn's coaching staff also know how a contentious situation at quarterback can impact a team.

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was a graduate assistant at Arkansas with Malzahn in 2006. Wide receivers coach Kodi Burns was in a divisive QB situation when he and Chris Todd split time in 2008 - Burns later said it was "a bunch of nonsense." Offensive graduate assistant Jonathan Wallace was part of a three-quarterback ordeal in the disastrous 2012 season. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele had trouble settling on a quarterback during his stint as head coach at Baylor from 1999-2002.

Following a botched plan of having Sean White start and both Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin III involved in the game plan in last week's 19-13 season-opening loss to No. 2 Clemson, Malzahn has reversed course.

White is the starter, Franklin is the backup and Johnson is the odd man out -- at least for now -- as the Tigers prepare for Arkansas State (0-1) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).

RELATED: Which Auburn QB received highest grade from Pro Football Focus in season opener with Clemson?

After a failed experiment, which also included running back Kerryon Johnson and H-back Chandler Cox taking direct snaps, that produced paltry statistical results in one of the worst offensive performances for his offense, Malzahn appears committed to bringing stability to the most important position on the field.

"Well first of all, there's not going to be any of that nonsense, like ... in 2008," Malzahn said. "We're a very close team and we'll go, we'll get behind Sean we're going to bring John Franklin along and we're going to be fine.

"So as far as any kind of negativity internally, there will be zero."

Malzahn has seen internal conflict. Even as Arkansas managed to go 10-4 and win the SEC West, the quarterback situation was a season-long fiasco that divided the team, including the coaching staff as then-Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt and Malzahn did not see eye-to-eye.

Robert Johnson was named the starter before the season only to see heralded true freshman Mitch Mustain, who Malzahn coached at nearby Springdale High School, take over. Backup Casey Dick got his chance as well.

The Razorbacks had three players attempt a pass in six games during the 2006 season, after which Malzahn left to become offensive coordinator at Tulsa.

At Tulsa, along with co-offensive coordinator Herb Hand, now Auburn's offensive line coach, Malzahn relied heavily on starting quarterbacks Paul Smith and David Johnson in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Tulsa did have three players attempt a pass seven times in 2007 and four times in 2008, though the second-most attempts by any player never exceeded four.

During his stint as Auburn's offensive coordinator for 2009-2011, Malzahn was part of bringing steadiness back to the quarterback position following a difficult 2008 season.

When Todd was announced as the starter and Burns was moved to wide receiver prior to the 2009 season, the players appreciated the manner in which coaches made their decision.

"I felt as if it was (divisive in 2008)," Burns said on Aug. 13, 2009. "It was a bunch of nonsense. Things weren't handled the right way. This year, the coaching staff came in and everything was fair. Everything was a great chance. I'm just thankful that I had a chance."

Only once during the 2009 season, a 31-10 loss at LSU, did Auburn have three players attempt a pass.

The Tigers only had one such instance during their 2010 BCS National Championship season and it was the season opener against Arkansas State when backups Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle each attempted a pass behind Cam Newton.

There were four games during the 2011 season in which at least three Auburn players attempted a pass, including two games in which four players did so.

Malzahn only tapped three players to throw the ball once during his 2012 season at Arkansas State. Since becoming head coach at Auburn, he's done it just three times -- once in 2013 and twice in 2015, with four players attempting throws in the Birmingham Bowl.

There's no way such a system is sustainable to go with long-term success, which is what made Malzahn's plan last week all the more difficult to understand.

Auburn's 38 total yards of offense during the first half was stunning even as Clemson only led 10-3 at halftime.

"The first half was unacceptable for what we do here at Auburn," Lashlee said. "You have five drives, and four of them are three-and-out. It's just not acceptable. The second half, we have seven drives and six of them went into their territory, because we were moving the ball and getting a little more tempo going.

"Obviously on three of them, though, we shot ourselves in the foot when we got down there close and had a chance to score some points. We got some good field position on a couple drives, too, thanks to our defense."

Steele's debut as defensive coordinator went particularly well as his unit held Clemson's high-powered offense well below its season averages in total yards, rushing and scoring from last season.

Though he knows the importance of stability at quarterback, Steele is not offering any advice given his lack of success with the position while at Baylor.

"Well obviously I didn't handle it very well," he said. "So I don't think my opinion really matters."

White, Franklin or whoever else should be asked to pass on Saturday should be able to find success against a porous Arkansas State pass defense.

Auburn hopes Malzahn's new plan can deliver the results he spoke of wanting to achieve all offseason and have a better season following the lack of offensive firepower in 2015.

"This is one of those deals where the world is going to tell you 'oh here we go against and same old, same old' but that's not the case," Lashlee said on the radio following last week's game. "... I reiterate again, these guys, they're going to hang tough. We're going to make plays this year.

"This is going to be a different team than last year."

3 OR MORE PLAYERS ATTEMPT PASS IN GAME IN UNDER GUS MALZAHN



Player, pass attempts

2006 ARKANSAS

Southern California: Johnson 25, Mustain 6, Washington 1

SEMO: Mustain 13, Dick 9, Johnson 1

ULM: Mustain 18, Dick 4, McFadden 1

LSU: Dick 17, McFadden 2, Johnson 1

Florida: Dick 22, McFadden 3, Washington 1

Wisconsin: Dick 21, Mustain 10, McFadden 1

2007 TULSA

BYU: Smith 35, Whitmore 1, Johnson 1

Oklahoma: Smith 32, Johnson 3, Chamberlain 1

UTEP: Smith 43, Whitmore, 1, Such 1

UCF: Smith 56, Johnson 3, Adams 1

Army: Smith 32, Whitmore 1, Adams 1

UCF: Smith 55, Whitmore 1, Johnson 1

Bowling Green: Smith 45, Adams 1, Jurado 1

2008 TULSA

Central Arkansas: Johnson 22, Bower 4, Whitmore 1

UTEP: Johnson 27, Bower 2, Whitmore 1

Arkansas: Johnson 31, Whitmore 1, Bower 1

Houston: Johnson 29, Bower 3, Such 1

2009 AUBURN

LSU: Todd 14, Caudle 5, Burns 1

2010 AUBURN

Arkansas State: Newton 14, Trotter 1, Caudle 1

2011 AUBURN

South Carolina: Trotter 23, White 1, Uzomah 1, Frazier 0

Arkansas: Trotter 19, Frazier 4, Moseley 1, Uzomah 1

Florida: Trotter 8, Moseley 7, Frazier 1

Virginia: Trotter 18, Moseley 4, Bray 1

2012 ARKANSAS STATE

Alcorn State: Aplin 13, Knighten 2, Butterfield 1

2013 AUBURN

FAU: Johnson 16, Marshall 1, Wallace 1

2014 AUBURN

N/A

2015 AUBURN

Ole Miss: White 28, Johnson 3, Smith 1

Memphis: White 13, Phillips 1, Johnson 1, Smith 1

2016 AUBURN

Clemson: White 21, Johnson 6, Franklin III 1