When quarterback Byrum Brown signed with USF to begin his collegiate career, he was ranked as the No. 73 quarterback and the No. 1,178 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class. When he entered the transfer portal following the 2025 season, he was ranked as the No. 17 player and the No. 7 quarterback in the mix.
Brown had a breakout season with USF in 2025, and likely had a lot of options for where to play his final season of college football after it was announced that his head coach, Alex Golesh, would be taking over the Auburn football program.
But for Brown, the choice to follow Golesh to the Plains was an easy one.
“Coach Golesh has had a tremendous amount of confidence in me since I was 18,” Brown said, per AuburnTigers.com. “Handed the reins over to me, and then I got hurt one year and he poured into me even more, had more confidence in me.
“When you go through the ups and go through the downs, having a coach that's there by your side, it means a lot. I definitely took that into consideration. Why not go play for the man who has demanded the very best of me since I got there and has helped me in ways I can't express?”
Brown took over as USF's starter in 2022 when Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon arrived to Tampa and set 15 program records during his time as a Bull. Brown is one of only 11 players in NCAA history with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season, and Brown fully believes he can duplicate his performance as an Auburn Tiger.
“I'm truly blessed to even be a quarterback for Auburn University,” Brown said. “I was blessed to be a quarterback for USF when I was QB4, so tremendous gratitude to USF as well. Just can't wait to play at Auburn.”
With the same head coach and offensive coordinator, as well as many of his teammates from his time at USF, Brown is confident that the Tigers are well on their way to restoring the Auburn football program to its former glory.
Golesh and Brown will have their first opportunity to show off the new and improved Auburn football team on September 5, when the Tigers kick off their season against the Baylor Bears in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
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