USF Quarterback, Potential Top Auburn Target to Enter Transfer Portal

One of the Auburn Tigers’ top potential quarterback targets has announced he is planning to explore other options.

South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown is set to enter the transfer portal, according to a report from Hayes Fawcett around 11 a.m. CST on Monday.

NEW: USF QB Byrum Brown plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.

Brown totaled 4,166 yards, 42 touchdowns and 7 interceptions this season. https://t.co/U31NaOwnr0 pic.twitter.com/xi5N50V3HB
— On3 (@On3sports) December 22, 2025

Brown is ranked as the fourth-best player and third-best quarterback expected to enter the portal, per On3. The only other quarterbacks sitting ahead of him are Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and North Texas’ Drew Mestemaker.

Auburn has been widely discussed as a potential landing spot for Brown, assuming he would wish to follow Alex Golesh, his former head coach, from USF to the Plains. Additionally, Golesh brought over essentially his entire offensive staff, including offensive coordinator Joel Gordon and associate head coach Kodi Burns.

Thus, Brown’s name has circulated Auburn’s corner of social media ever since Golesh was hired a few weeks ago. Furthermore, On3 college football insider Pete Nakos also reported on Monday that Auburn is an “early school to watch” for the former Bull.

NEW: Auburn is the early school to watch for USF transfer QB Byrum Brown, @PeteNakos reports👀

Intel: https://t.co/DqueUXrmU6 https://t.co/1UmzIlMrzH pic.twitter.com/q6MRxpRJVM
— On3 (@On3sports) December 22, 2025

Brown enters the transfer portal with one year of eligibility, despite spending four years at USF. He played just four games as a freshman in 2022, preserving an extra year to play a fifth season.

His name hasn’t been floated around for no reason, as Brown has been extremely impressive over the last few seasons with the Bulls.

As a redshirt freshman in 2023, Brown threw for 3,292 yards and 26 touchdowns, but threw 11 interceptions. The Raleigh, N.C., native also totaled 809 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Most recently, he led the Bulls to a 9-3 record in the 2025 regular season, while recording 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns with seven interceptions through the air. He also notched 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground as a redshirt junior, and currently owns 15 USF program records, most of which were claimed in his outstanding 2023 campaign.

The probability that Brown ultimately suits up in the orange and blue next season seems likely, especially after Ashton Daniels announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on Sunday. Daniels started three games for the Tigers at the conclusion of this past season, and he expected to compete for the starting job next year.

However, for whatever reason, Daniels said in his official statement that “things didn’t work out how I thought they would.” Whether that means Golesh and company told Daniels that they would bring in a portal quarterback is unknown, but it’s certainly a possibility.

Currently, Auburn has one scholarship player in its quarterback room with freshman Deuce Knight, as Jackson Arnold unsurprisingly plans to enter the portal, as well. A large amount of the Tigers’ fanbase has been expressing their support for Knight to start next season after his historic six-touchdown performance against Mercer in November, believing how he is “the future” of the program.

The likelihood that Auburn retains Knight seems to be trending in the right direction, but bringing in Brown would probably mean that Knight would have to sit another year. But Brown only holds one more year of eligibility, so maybe the pitch to Knight was that he can sit one more season, then start in 2027 as a redshirt sophomore.

Overall, the Tigers will undoubtedly have to attack the transfer portal at a multitude of positions, but quarterback may be the most important one. Auburn hasn’t had a proven quarterback since Jarrett Stidham in 2017 and 2018, and it’s been a consistent position of concern and instability since Stidham departed.

Fortunately for Auburn, this offseason’s transfer portal haul of quarterbacks is plentiful, as there’s a plethora of talented options who have already declared their intention to enter. Whether Brown is the answer, or it’s Leavitt, Mestemaker, Florida’s D.J. Lagway, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby, or many more options, bringing in a solid quarterback to start under center for the Tigers next season is essential.