After the abject failures of the Auburn Tigers’ past few quarterbacks, most notably Payton Thorne and Jackson Arnold, new head coach Alex Golesh is choosing to go with a proven option for 2026: Byrum Brown. The senior has received quite a bit of praise ahead of the upcoming season, but not everyone is bought into what he has to bring to the Plains.

Most notably (and potentially egregiously) is Brooks Austin, who, despite sharing my name, does not quite agree with my takes on Byrum Brown. In fact, in Austin’s recent list of top SEC quarterbacks, Brown was listed as the 10th-best of the 11 quarterbacks Austin listed.

Austin described his list as ‘50% what you’ve done,  50% what you’re going to do,’ and Brown, at the very least, has done more than enough to get himself at least a few notches higher on the list. After all, Brown was the only quarterback in the FBS last year to pass for over 3,000 yards while also rushing for over 1,000 yards, a testament to the threat he brings to the SEC this year.

Additionally, Brown’s 42 total touchdowns ranked second among quarterbacks in 2025, trailing only Fernando Mendoza, the eventual Heisman winner and National Champion, as a key part of Curt Cignetti’s Indiana team. Notably, Brown’s numbers split much more evenly, with 28 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns, while Mendoza heavily favors the pass with 41 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns.

As for what Brown is going to do, Austin apparently does not seem nearly as high on the Tigers’ chances this year, particularly on offense, as his fellow analyst and personality Josh Pate, who ranked Brown at No. 9 among all SEC quarterbacks and second among the newcomers. 

There is one quality of Brown’s game that has gotten quite a bit of attention over the past few months: his highly unconventional throwing motion. Perhaps it could be the reason Austin is a bit more apprehensive about Brown, but it is safe to assume that Golesh’s golden boy will be looking to prove all doubters of his passing wrong, especially after all the extra attention that particular facet of his game has gotten this offseason. 

So, after a historic, record-shattering year with USF, Byrum Brown will begin his Auburn career with something to prove, as it seems no amount of production will satisfy the talking heads if that production occurred with an AAC program. However, if Brown is able to prove himself this year, the perception of his play will almost certainly flip incredibly quickly.

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