Byrum Brown Left Completely Off of CBS Sports’ Top-50 Quarterbacks

The Auburn quarterback will have some work do to in SEC play to get into the shortlist for top quarterbacks in the country.

Sep 19, 2026; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown (17) throws a pass as Florida Gators linebacker Jaden Robinson (29) closes in during the second quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before the season started, fans of the Auburn Tigers believed that the Tigers' newest transfer quarterback, Byrum Brown, was going to be one of the biggest superstars in the country in his new uniform, but after three weeks, he has been left completely off the top-50 quarterbacks list, according to CBS Sports.

This means that Brown is currently ranked lower than players like Toledo’s John Alan Richter, North Dakota State’s Nathan Hayes and Memphis’ Marcus Stokes, which is certainly not a good look for an aspiring Power Four quarterback. 

It’s hard to blame CBS for leaving Brown off the list after his production in the first few games, as he has completed just under 65% of his passes for 780 yards and five touchdowns, a stat line that would be, at the very least, respectable if Brown had not also added four interceptions to that total.

In fairness, three of those interceptions came in Brown’s first game as a Tiger, and his offensive coordinator, Joel Gordon, and head coach, Alex Golesh, took responsibility for two of the three interceptions, but it’s still hard to justify putting a quarterback with a 5:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the top 50.

Where Brown was expected to make the biggest waves, though, was through his legs, as he was the only quarterback in FBS last year to pass for over 3,000 yards while also rushing for over 1,000 yards. However, through three games, Brown has rushed for just 180 yards and two touchdowns, a far cry from his stats through this point in the season last year.

The Tigers’ offense as a whole has struggled, both as a result of and a contributor to Brown’s struggles, and Brown currently leads the Tigers in total rushing yards, ahead of his RB1, Jeremiah Cobb, who has not seen much action on the field so far this year.

As a result, much of the offense’s strategy relies on Brown’s decision-making, and with a longer throwing motion, that decision-making needs to be much quicker, especially in the SEC. Brown has struggled to find his pace so far, but that could change in a hurry once things begin to click.

If there was ever a time for things to click, though, it would be this weekend, as the Tigers have one last unranked matchup before playing four straight ranked SEC teams, three of which are away games and three of which are against teams in the top-10 at this time.

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