The day has finally come when the Auburn Tigers play football and everything Alex Golesh and his squad have worked on will be put to the test.
The last nine months have built to this moment, and it being Golesh’s first game as the team’s leader puts a lot of weight on how the Tigers play.
With a lot of talented players on the squad, the coach hopes to see some guys step up and stand out that performed well in preseason camp. The Auburn Undercover staff compiled a list during preseason camp of the top 20 players it thought would make a difference on Saturdays. Now, that list has come to the final player.
As a disclaimer, the poll was tabulated by rankings sent in from four people on the Auburn Undercover staff—Tyler Raley, Ryan Bartow, Caleb Jones and Jay Douglas. The rankings each person sent in were averaged, with the lowest score going at the top of the list.
At the No. 1 spot of the Impacting Auburn series stands one of the highlight transfers Golesh brought from USF in Byrum Brown. He is the new man under center for Auburn, and despite having pressure on his shoulders, he is excited for what this year will bring.
General information:
Year: Senior
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Performance in 2025:
In his fourth and final year as part of the USF program, Brown became one of the most distinguished Bulls in program history, leaving with 15 program records.
Brown’s 2025 campaign saw him throw 226-for-341 for 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions, all for 3,158 yards. That total made him the first USF quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in two seasons, as he threw for 3,292 in 2023.
At the same time, the veteran ran 175 times for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns, making for an even more decorated season.
Brown’s most productive outing in 2025 in terms of yardage was in a win over UAB, when he went 19-for-25 with 353 yards and three touchdowns. His best rushing performance, meanwhile, was in a win over Charlotte, when he carried 17 times for 162 yards and a score.
His passing efforts placed him fifth in the American Athletic conference for yardage, while also allowing him to earn Second Team All-AAC honors. Brown was a recipient of the Comeback Player of the Year award as well.
Preseason camp intel:
It has been nine months since Brown has been able to show off his full set of skills and take contact, so with it now being time to do his thing again, he is not shying away from showing his emotions.
Brown has been the first team quarterback throughout camp, and someone Golesh has said has been glued to the game, watching film whenever he can and coaching up the other guys in the quarterback room.
That work has ramped up day by day as the season has inched closer, and there are times when Brown has beaten Golesh to the facility in the morning.
Now getting to don the orange and blue is an exciting feeling for the quarterback, and to him, that is what has been the most nerve-racking part of this first game experience.
“We’ve played in an NFL stadium before, can’t wait to just go do it in Auburn colors,” Brown said. “I think that’s been the biggest anxious feeling, like you just want to go out there and go play. It’s just waiting on that. I know it’s me right here, right now, but as soon as game time comes, I’ll be ready to roll.”
Brown has a benefit in that a lot of his offensive teammates were with him at USF, including three significant wide receivers and his center and right guard.
That has been beneficial, especially in terms of his center Cole Best, as the operation has been fairly smooth for the most part.
“There's so much more than just the snap,” Golesh said. “It's the ability to identify fronts, and the more that (the center) has done it with the quarterback, the more the quarterback can trust him to flip things, change things, move things.”
All his preparation will be put to the test as soon as he steps onto the field for his first drive with the Tigers.
Impacting Auburn ranking
No. 1 - Byrum Brown
No. 2 - Xavier Atkins
No. 3 - Elijah Melendez
No. 4 - Jeremiah Cobb
No. 5 - Jared Smith
No. 6 - Keshaun Singleton
No. 7 - Cody Sigler
No. 8 - Champ Anthony
No. 9 - Dallas Walker IV
No. 10 - Stanton Ramil
No. 11 - Jeremiah Koger
No. 12 - Da’Shawn Womack
No. 13 - Rayshawn Pleasant
No. 14 - Alex McPherson
No. 15 - Cole Best
No. 16 - Eric Winters
No. 17 - AnQuon Fegans
No. 18 - Omar Mabson II
No. 19 - Jake Johnson
No. 20 - Sylvester Smith-Reed
What do you say? Leave your thoughts on our board below.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
