Auburn fans know who their quarterback is heading into the 2026 season.
The Tigers are handing the keys over to record-setting Byrum Brown, who followed Alex Golesh from USF to Auburn this offseason.
Brown, a 6-foot-3, 238-pound senior, arrives at Auburn after setting 15 USF program records under Golesh and current Auburn offensive coordinator Joel Gordon the past three seasons, including becoming the program's first 3,000-yard passer and just one of 12 quarterbacks in FBS history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.
Simply put, the production speaks for itself.
But it was in the American Athletic Conference, and not the Southeastern Conference.
Brown, however, is not changing his approach.
“Just following my process and doing the same thing every single day and bringing guys along with me,” he said when asked on "SEC Now" at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, on how he can replicate his success in the SEC. “It’s just really just on a larger scale in a better conference.”
When Brown and his Auburn teammates opened spring practice in March, a clip of his unconventional throwing motion quickly took over social media.
The Raleigh, North Carolina, native admitted he initially paid too much attention to the criticism before learning to tune out the outside noise.
Golesh, meanwhile, has never questioned whether Brown’s game will translate.
“He would probably be the first to tell you to put the film on,” Golesh said when asked if Brown can carry his success over to the SEC. “Some of his best moments have come against the best competition.”
Brown already owns a strong resume against Power Four competition. He led USF to an 18-16 road win at Florida last season behind an offense that finished fifth nationally in scoring and among the top three in total offense at nearly 500 yards per game.
Brown will be joined by 10 other members of that offense this season, and he believes that continuity will give Auburn’s offense an early advantage.
“It helped us in the spring having one guy in every single room that came from the last institution; it helped jump-start. Maybe they can explain something a certain way that a coach might not because he isn’t actually on the field,” Brown said.
Nonetheless, Auburn fans are hoping Brown and his teammates can replicate such success on the Plains for a program that has not seen a winning season since 2019.
Brown said he’s eager to “go out there and ball” when the lights come on in Atlanta, Georgia, to kick off the season against Baylor.
Golesh believes the big stage is exactly where his quarterback belongs.
“I think for him, this is such a moment of, ‘I can't wait to show the country who I am on the biggest stage in college football,’” Golesh said of Brown. “And I would tell you, our program, our coaches and now our players are as confident as ever that not only will it translate, but that he's going to thrive.”
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