Auburn QB Byrum Brown Placed On Watchlists For Best Passers In The Country

While Auburn Tigers linebacker Xavier Atkins has been racking up the preseason watchlist recognitions over the past two weeks, quarterback Byrum Brown has been recognized as potentially one of the best passers in the nation for the 2026 season.

Brown was named to the preseason watchlist for both the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as well as the Davey O’Brien Award, both highlighting the best quarterback in college football in a given season.

Another one for QB1 🎯🦅@byrumbrown17 has landed on the @daveyobrien National Quarterback Award Watch List. pic.twitter.com/bNbUaZVfiv
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) August 20, 2026

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award recognizes the best upperclassmen signal callers based on their excellence on and off the field, while the Davey O’Brien goes to the best quarterback in the sport regardless of their class.

Byrum Brown has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List 🏆🦅@byrumbrown17 ➡️ @GoldenArmAward pic.twitter.com/amId9LTYb4
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) August 19, 2026

The transfer who came over from the University of South Florida (USF) with head coach Alex Golesh was named one of 27 quarterbacks on the Golden Arm list that included six other SEC passers and one of 30 for the more recognized award.

Auburn quarterbacks have appeared on both watchlists for years without winning the actual award. Jackson Arnold and Payton Thorne represented the Tigers on the Golden Arm list the last two seasons, and Cam Newton is the only winner of the Davey O’Brien in the school’s history.

2026 brings a lot of new criteria for the more selective Golden Arm list. According to their press release revealing the watch list, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation named new requirements for the winner, listing “players may have no more than five years of college enrollment and must have played for no more than two college programs. Eligibility is based on a player’s years in college, not their listed class year.”

Brown appeared on the watchlist in 2024 before his junior year campaign with the USF Bulls. Unfortunately, an injury-riddled season allowed him to only appear in six games. Despite not being deemed a potential winner before 2025, he had his best season yet to become a household name in college football.

In 2025, Brown led the Bulls to a 9-4 record including two ranked wins over the Boise State Broncos and Florida Gators. He threw for 3,158 yards with 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions in twelve games. On the ground, he added 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns, becoming the sixth quarterback in the College Football Playoff era to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000.

After his breakout campaign, Brown was named one of the winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award presented by the Associated Press. He also earned Second Team All-AAC honors after 4,100 total yards and 42 total touchdowns.

The Tiger quarterback would join Cam Newton as the only winners of the Davey O’Brien after Newton’s historic 2010 season that ended in a national championship.

If Brown were to win Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, he would be the first quarterback in Auburn’s history to earn the honors. He would be the fourth SEC quarterback to bring home the trophy since 2020, joining last year’s winner from Vanderbilt Diego Pavia, Jayden Daniels with LSU in 2023, and Mac Jones with Alabama in 2020.

Brown earning both awards in the same season should propel the Tigers to be bowl eligible for the first time since 2023 and be one of the best offenses in the nation in Golesh’s return to the SEC.

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