Auburn is trying to prove that there is something in the water, and it is changing fast. After announcing a lock-in camp for the next 13 days, Alex Golesh has another log to add to the fire to fuel these players with.
That log has ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s new article about the top 40 most important players in college football in 2026 written on it. Bill talks about players from all over the nation, including former Tiger wide receiver Cam Coleman, who transferred from Auburn to Texas this year to try and win with Arch Manning, plus new UNLV QB Jackson Arnold, someone who Tiger fans won't soon forget.
It was a great read and very informative, but it left out one of the most obvious in a category that he would have fit perfectly in.
Byrum Brown not in ‘game-changing leap’ category
For Byrum Brown to at least not get an honorable mention in the "QBs with a game-changing leap in them" is blasphemy. I can understand the argument to not have him up there with Marcel Reed and Arch Manning purely on the competition alone, but others in that spot make no sense. Although I believe Brown's win over Florida at the Swamp should be enough evidence to put him up there over John Mateer, I digress. There is an argument for Bear Bachmeier and especially Bryce Underwood, too.
Underwood had a terrible season in 2025 and hasn’t looked good at all even this offseason leading into 2026. But some people would say Eric Weddle’s comments are misguided; the stats are right there, you can’t really compare the two. Byrum had almost as many yards (1,008) as Miami U’s RB Mark Fletcher Jr. (1,192) and had more touchdowns than one of the nation's top rushing stars. Underwood only gets some of the recognition he gets because he went to Michigan. That is just my opinion.
Don’t even get me started on Bachmeier. BYU always makes a lot of noise in the media only to get pitted against actual good teams and usually gets squashed in those matchups. This is no exception. The Cougars could play Auburn 100 times and possibly, out of the grace of the football gods, win one of those 100. If a 3,000+ yard passer with 1,000+ yards rushing isn’t better than a guy who felt like the emergency for their team, I’m not sure what a good QB is anymore.
Yes, BYU did have a successful 2025 campaign, but that was heavily predicated on having three really good receivers that he doesn’t have this year. So you’re expecting me to believe a sophomore is supposed to get more out of his teammates than he could bring for them last year? When they were better last year than they are this year? I think not. This is not the same team BYU is bringing into 2026.
After this season, we should be seeing Brown at the top of everyone's NFL QB draft list. If Brown can win some hardware on top of it, it would only be a win-more for what could be a lightning-in-a-bottle kind of season. Golesh has already called Brown one of the nation's best QBs. With fuel like this, he can show them why by beating Baylor definitively and not scraping by the Bears. A game on a national stage is exactly what Auburn needs to prove that the change has come, and everyone will see it.
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