What New QB Byrum Brown Means to Auburn

Auburn has had notable quarterback woes over the last few years. Can USF transfer Byrum Brown be the long-awaited solution?

New Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown spent four seasons at USF, three of which were under now-Tigers head coach Alex Golesh. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers secured the commitment of former USF quarterback Byrum Brown on Tuesday, bringing new head coach Alex Golesh’s quarterback with him to the Plains. Brown racked up some incredible numbers in 2025, but can he help spark an Auburn offense that has been sputtering for years?  

Well, the recruiting numbers certainly inspire confidence. Brown ranks as the No. 5 quarterback in the portal, via Rivals, and the No. 8 quarterback in the portal via 247 Sports. The stats are impressive as well, as Brown led the FBS in total offense with 347.2 yards per game. 

Brown spoke to the media on the day of his commitment, fielding questions about both his philosophy as a player and his decision to follow his head coach to Auburn.

“Coach Golesh has shown me his plan from day one, when he got there, got to USF, and now he came here and wanted to build something again,” Brown said. “And, you know, I trust in that man fully, so I can’t wait to bring this place back to where it should be.”

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New Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown was the honorary letterman at the Tigers' basketball game against Texas A&M. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brown was Golesh’s starting quarterback for his entire tenure at USF, and he posted over 3000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards in the two seasons that were not affected by injury, 2023 and 2025. When asked what was something that the Auburn faithful should know about the offense he had led for the past three seasons, Brown had a simple answer.

“We’re going to score a lot of points,” he said.

That would be a much welcome change for the Tigers, as recent Auburn offenses have looked less like the high-flying attack that Golesh and Brown led and more like a slow-motion car crash into a tree while trying to drive the car from the passenger seat. 

The Tigers haven’t won more than six games in a season since 2019, and in those six seasons the Auburn offense hasn’t averaged more than the 25.5 points per game the Tigers managed in 2021, Bo Nix’s third season as the starting quarterback.

Quarterback has been a fairly consistent issue for Auburn ever since the departure of Heisman winner Cam Newton to the NFL. Though Nick Marshall, Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix all played fairly well for the Tigers at times, the years since Newton have seen their fair share of undwhelming and inconsistent players like Shaun White, Jeremy Johnson, Payton Thorne and, most recently, Jackson Arnold.

Even Nix, who is currently starting for the AFC No. 1 seed Denver Broncos, was nowhere near the version of himself he is now in the NFL, or even that he was at Oregon, while under center for Auburn. Truthfully, the success of the Auburn offense since Newton has mostly been down to if the Auburn running backs had the ability to take over a game, such as Kerryon Johnson or Tank Bigsby.

Considering his on-field ability and the production he has already put up over the last three seasons, Brown should put the Auburn offense in its best chance to succeed of any quarterback the Tigers have had since Newton. 

Under now-Auburn head coach Alex Golesh, Byrum Brown set multiple USF passing records. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

He is incredibly adept at pushing the ball down the field, is a good decision maker and offers incredible upside as a runner. He runs with impressive physicality despite his position as a quarterback but still can make all of the throws he would need to. And, most importantly, he seems to relish the opportunity to come play at college football’s highest level.

“[I’m] stoked,” Brown said. “I mean, it was just the American, or whatever conference, so being able to come to this conference and showcase the same skills and ability and win [is exciting]. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Brown also didn’t shy away from being the focal point of the offense for Golesh at Auburn like he was at USF. When asked to describe his style of play at quarterback, Brown made it clear that he has one goal with the Tigers next season.

“I describe it as just strictly a quarterback that is going to do whatever it takes to win,” Brown said. “Throw the ball 50 times a game, run the ball 50 times a game, whatever it takes to win. That’s my mentality.”

Brown has also proven that he can beat SEC competition already, as he led USF to a Week 2 win over the Florida Gators in 2025. He threw for 263 yards and a touchdown against the Gators, adding 66 yards on the ground en route to an 18-16 victory in Gainesville.  

As far as the scouting report on Brown, he excels down the field. He received a grade of 93.2 from Pro Football Focus on pass attempts of 20 yards or more, right with the best in the country. On 58 such attempts, he completed 30 passes for 1161 yards, 10 touchdowns and just a single interception. That stat line of completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio would be good in a vacuum, but for it to be only on deep shots is absurdly impressive. 

Brown also received the second highest rushing grade of any quarterback in the country, according to PFF, behind only Arkansas’ Taylen Green. Brown is 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, and he absolutely runs like it. He isn’t your typical mobile quarterback that likes to make people miss in space, preferring to go through them instead. If you want to get a sense of how that looks on the field, go turn on the first half highlights of USF’s 2025 season opener against Boise State.

USF QB Byrum Brown was trying to truck every Boise State defender in the first half 😭pic.twitter.com/Xp6gDHn4U0

— Underdog (@Underdog) August 28, 2025

However, don’t let the big arm and prodigious running ability make you think Brown is all athlete and nothing more. He has displayed good decision making in his time as a starter for the Bulls, and his processing ability has only progressed as his playing time has increased. He isn’t a player that will panic in the pocket or make inexplicable mistakes, unlike some recent Auburn signal callers.

Overall, Brown is more than just his impressive box score numbers against teams from the American. Auburn is getting an astounding athlete, an experienced leader, and a game-breaking threat at the quarterback position for the first time in many, many seasons. On paper, the Auburn faithful should be extremely excited for what 2026 holds with Brown at quarterback.