Fall camp starts up this week for the Auburn Tigers, and in the first year under Coach Alex Golesh, the program is looking to make a mark and achieve its first winning season since 2020.
The Tigers have talent riddled throughout their roster in many position groups, seeking to use that to their advantage in order to stack up wins.
Now, as all the preseason honors come out across the nation, two Auburn stars have been named to the Maxwell Award Watch list—quarterback Byrum Brown and running back Jeremiah Cobb.
The Maxwell Award is handed out each season to the best all-around player in the nation, being just behind the Heisman Trophy in magnitude. Recent winners include Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in 2025, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in 2024 and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. in 2023.Brown and Cobb are two of the 81 players named to the watch list.
Brown is one of 13 players that came over from USF when Golesh was installed as the head coach of the Tigers, having spent the last four seasons at USF.
The quarterback holds 15 program records in Bulls history, including being the only passer to have posted a 3,000-yard season.
In his fourth season at USF, Brown went 226-for-341 through the air with 3,158 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed 175 times for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns, certifying him as a true dual-threat quarterback. The marks sat him fifth in passing yards and sixth in rushing yards in the American Athletic Conference.
With his 2025 efforts, Brown was named a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist and was placed on watch lists for multiple awards, including the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien and Manning. He was also named an American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week, earned Davey O’Brien “Great 8” honors four times and was recognized as a Manning Award Star of the Week twice.
Cobb has been with Auburn since he committed out of Montgomery Catholic High School.
The senior running back ran 175 times for 969 yards during the 2025 season, scoring five touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 83 yards. His rushing performance put him sixth in the SEC for the year.
Cobb turned in five 100-yard rushing performances last year, those being against Ball State, South Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas and Vanderbilt. That effort contributed to the back earning Third Team All-SEC honors. He also averaged 5.5 yards per carry over the course of the campaign.
Since the inception of the award in 1937, the Tigers have only had one player win the honor—Cam Newton in 2010.
The semifinalists for the 90th Maxwell Award will be announced on Nov. 10 with the three finalists being announced on Nov. 24. The winner of the award will be announced during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10.
