Auburn Quarterback Ranked Outside Top 5 In Another SEC Ranking

Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown will have to work his way up the ladder if he wants to be considered a top five SEC quarterback.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown (17) will look to prove himself as one of the best signal-callers in the SEC in 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After every quarterback competition that was taking place in the SEC wrapped up yesterday with multiple starters named, Brad Crawford of CBS Sports ranked every starter in the conference.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown was placed dead in the middle, coming in as the eighth best passer in the SEC heading into the 2026 season. The reasoning for Brown’s somewhat surprising placement is his introduction to the SEC after transferring in from the University of South Florida (USF), despite having multiple games against SEC opponents under his belt.

 Last season, Brown won an SEC game on the road when the USF Bulls upset the Florida Gators in Week 2.  In the two previous years, he faced off against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“[Brown] has already proven he can produce in Golesh’s offense during their time at USF. He is dangerous with his legs, can create outside structure and should give the Tigers a reliable veteran presence,” Crawford wrote. “The question is how his game translates against deeper, faster SEC defenses every week. Brown will climb these rankings quickly if his deep ball becomes more catchable.”

Brown, who has been named to numerous preseason watchlists to potentially be the best quarterback in the country last year, finished with 4,166 total yards and 42 total touchdowns. He was one of six quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 yards while throwing over 3,000 in the College Football Playoff era. However, he is still being doubted if his game can translate to one of the hardest schedules in the sport.

Crawford’s top five consisted of Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Arch Manning at Texas, LSU’s transfer addition Sam Leavitt, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers. Just above Brown were John Mateer at Oklahoma and Keelon Russell, the winner of Alabama’s quarterback battle. Russell has only played two games in his college career and Leavitt, Sellers, and Mateer had injuries in some capacity last year that prevented them from elite play.

Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed also came in surprisingly low at number nine. The list wrapped up with Faizon Brandon at Tennessee, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor, Florida’s Aaron Philo, Kenny Minchey at Kentucky, KJ Jackson at Arkansas, Austin Simmons at Missouri, and Blaze Berlowitz, ending the SEC rankings at 16.

Brown found himself at many different spots across many preseason signal-caller lists. He finished seventh on On3’s, fourth on Yahoo Sports, and ninth according to Josh Pate.

If Brown has a similar season statistically to last year for Auburn this year, it will be hard to keep him out of the top five.

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