$1.9 million QB Expected to Spark Immediate Rebuild at Struggling SEC Program

The 2025 college football season produced plenty of shocking results and exciting moments.

Early in the year, it looked like a new program was preparing to enter the race to be among the Group of Six schools in contention for a College Football Playoff spot.

Under former head coach Alex Golesh, the USF Bulls took the sport by storm in September. The Bulls recorded a pair of impressive victories, dispatching a Boise State coming off a playoff appearance and upsetting Florida in Gainesville with a last-second field goal.

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USF rose to No. 18 in the country before falling to Miami 49-12. The Bulls responded with a four-game winning streak but lost to Memphis in late October, ending their hopes of a dream run.

Regardless, Golesh guided the program to a 9-4 campaign, USF's most victories in a single season since 2017. Golesh parlayed the success into an opportunity to rebuild Auburn, and he took his quarterback with him.

Following four years with the Bulls, including a breakout performance last fall, veteran signal-caller Byrum Brown will get a chance to prove his talent in the SEC.

Brown Immediately Becomes Key Piece For Auburn

Brown is coming off a 2025 season where he earned second-team All-AAC honors after completing 226/341 passes for 3,158 yards with 28 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. He added 175 carries for 1,008 yards and 14 more scores.

Considering his experience in Golesh's system and dual-threat ability, it's hard to doubt Brown's fit at Auburn.

That's a big reason why CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah ranked Brown at No. 5 among the transfer quarterbacks who slot in at the best at their new programs.

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"Brown was one of the top quarterbacks in the Group of Six last season. Now he has the opportunity to help turn around Auburn's offense," Jeyarajah wrote. "The Tigers failed to establish much of an offensive identity during the Hugh Freeze era, but Brown immediately fills many of the biggest holes.

"While his passing might be a work in progress at the SEC level, his physical running will help set a much higher floor than the Auburn units of years past," Jeyarajah added.

Brown threw for 250+ yards in seven games last season. He also had six games with 100+ rushing yards, including five of his last six outings to conclude the campaign.

During his four years at USF, Brown appeared in 35 games. He completed 616/950 passes for 7,690 yards with 61 touchdowns to 19 interceptions while rushing 477 times for 2,265 yards and 31 more scores.

Brown is valued at $1.9 million, per On3.

Auburn has struggled mightily since parting ways with Gus Malzahn after the 2020 season. The Tigers haven't finished above .500 in over half a decade, resulting in the firing of the first two men who followed in Malzahn's footsteps; Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze.

It remains to be seen where Golesh ends up. Considering recent history, he won't have much time to prove the program is back on the right track.

Auburn won a national championship back in 2010 and appeared in the final BCS title game in 2013.

Brown Immediately Becomes Key Piece For Auburn

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