When Byrum Brown decided to follow Alex Golesh to Auburn, becoming the de facto starting quarterback for the Tigers for the 2026 season, he was immediately put into the pressure cooker.
Videos of him making awkward throws suddenly appeared from spring practice, and a less-than-impressive performance during Auburn’s annual A-Day Game had some questioning if he is the right man behind center.
Golesh, who has coached Brown for three years, has already told people to relax, even going so far as to say the quarterback is exactly what Auburn needs to help the program find an identity. Now, CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford echoes the coach’s sentiments.
In his overractions to the SEC following spring practice, Crawford writes:
""Byrum Brown is the least of the Tigers' worries: These are the kind of trash takes that happen in spring practice when a star player has a bad public scrimmage, or something looks off, but isn't. Bryce Underwood was horrible in Michigan's spring game, but do you think the rising sophomore and former five-star is worried about losing his job at quarterback? For a signal caller who threw for 3,158 yards last season and ran for another 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns at South Florida, Brown is destined to be one of the league's most impactful transfers and has more experience playing at a high level than most counterparts in the league.""CBS Sports' Brad Crawford
Certainly, you can understand why some, especially Auburn fans, would panic after seeing Brown struggle in the spring game. The Tigers have had a revolving door of ineffective quarterbacks over the past four seasons, and seeing a touted transfer come in and not crush it right away could bring back memories of Payton Thorne and Jackson Arnold.
But there’s no reason to believe that Brown will fail to live up to the expectations. He’s playing in Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon’s system for the fourth year, and the addition of four wide receivers and a tight end that Brown was comfortable with at USF will only help the chemistry continue to grow, whereas it would have to start at the beginning with pass catchers he was unfamiliar with.Â
If Golesh wants to put an end to Auburn’s streak of five-straight losing seasons, Brown will play a massive part in that. The first-year Auburn head coach believes that is exactly what he and the Tigers will do this season.Â
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