Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh popularly brought Byrum Brown over with him in his recent job switch. LSU Wire's Will Rosenblatt believes the massive transfer portal addition, via the pair's former program, the USF Bulls, puts AU at No. 3 in the SEC totem pole for quarterbacks.
Rosenblatt believes only the Texas Longhorns' Arch Manning and the Ole Miss Rebels' Trinidad Chambliss, the latter of which still hasn't been given the green light for an extra year of eligibility, but will probably get one when that decision is made on February 12 in Calhoun County, Mississippi, a short drive from Oxford, rank ahead of Brown at the most important position on the field.
Rosenblatt predicts a "smooth transition" for Brown, Golesh, Joel Gordon, and Co. on the Plains in 2026.
"Auburn tabbed USF's Alex Golesh as head coach and with Golesh comes star quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown brings four years and over 7,000 career passing yards to the Plains. Auburn was in QB purgatory under previous head coach Hugh Freeze but that will change with Brown aboard. Brown may be the most physically gifted quarterback in the SEC. He has an absolute cannon for an arm, and at 232 pounds, he's hard to bring down," Rosenblatt wrote.
"In 2025, Brown threw for 3,129 yards and ran for 1,107 more. You don't see those numbers often. Brown may be at a new place, but he's with his head coach and a handful of offensive teammates. That should make for a smooth transition as the Golesh era gets underway."
Auburn is definitively better at quarterback than Alabama for first time since 2021
2021 was the last time Auburn had a better quarterback than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bo Nix was under center for the Tigers, while Bryce Young was under center for the Tide. Unfortunately, Nix's late-season injury meant the two never got to face off in the Iron Bowl.
Young had a better collegiate career, but Nix has turned out to be the better player. They were in different recruiting classes, so it's tough to say who was better coming out of high school, with Nix playing in Alabama's 6A division and Young playing in CIF Southern Section Division 1. Now, though, only one of them, within their first three years in the NFL, has made the conference championship. If Nix got to suit up for the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship this past weekend, maybe the Broncos would be getting a Super Bowl rematch instead of the New England Patriots.
Young has overcome the early-career bust narrative label, but he's not yet at Nix's level at the next level.
Not since 2021 has Auburn gotten the chance to brag about the QB position. Bryan Harsin didn't even have a definitive QB1 in 2022, but he chose incorrectly out of the gate with TJ Finley before Robby Ashford got a half-baked three-quarters of a season in two different offenses. Hugh Freeze then went with Payton Thorne and Jackson Arnold, two unpopular options with the fans who weren't even given full endorsements from the coach. Both were benched on multiple occasions.
It's 2026, now, though, and Golesh has his guy. Kalen DeBoer does not. Austin Mack and Keelon Russell could both win the job in Tuscaloosa. If you have two starting-caliber quarterbacks, you have none.
There's an imbalance under center that favors the good guys, and that hasn't been the case in at least half a decade.