Auburn Tigers Quarterback Room Still Loaded With Questions Following Byrum Brown

There has been plenty of turnover this past offseason for the Auburn Tigers following the firing of Hugh Freeze and the hiring of new head coach Alex Golesh. And the quarterback is no exception. 

Byron Brown will clearly be the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers in 2026 as he follows Golesh from USF over to the Plains. He's a perfect prototype under the new Auburn head coach's system. The quarterbacks behind him, however, don't fit the same mold. 

With that being said, there is a good Chance 2027's starting quarterback is not currently on the roster. It's not fair to use historical trends given the regime change, but it's important to discuss it, as they go to the portal every year for the position.

Under the last regime, Freeze brought in Payton Thorne and Jackson Arnold, both highly sought after in the transfer portal. Although he followed his head coach, Byrum Brown was also a top transfer quarterback prospect this past offseason. 

The best chance for Auburn's 2027 quarterback to be on the roster is Oregon State transfer Tristan Ti'a. The redshirt freshman from Livermore, California, has excited plenty of Auburn staffers during spring ball this season and will likely find some playing time during Auburn's non-conference slate at the beginning of the year. If he shows enough signs of potential to handle an SEC offense, maybe Golish will put his faith in Ti'a for the following season. However, that feels like a big if, because unless Auburn unfortunately deals with injuries to starting quarterback Byrum Brown, the coaching staff will likely not have enough evidence, enough tape, to make a full decision and pass up on grabbing somebody in the transfer portal next winter. 

The Tigers did go out and recruit 2027 three-star quarterback Gary Chatman Jr., but a freshman quarterback most likely will not have the starting gig once Brown leaves after this year. Chatman shows serious upside and will likely earn his fourth star from recruiting analysts once he begins his senior high school season this year, early in the recruiting process, before evaluators have had the opportunity to see his full potential. Although he seems like an exciting prospect, a first-year player in college football likely will need some time to develop before being successful in Alex Golesh's offensive system. 

Even if one of these two quarterbacks has an opportunity to show what they have, potential-wise, behind Brown this season, Auburn will likely chase a quarterback in the transfer portal next year. With recent recruiting wins on the defensive side and the offensive line for Auburn, the quarterback could be a primary target next offseason, one they would be willing to spend top dollar on in NIL.

Golesh could find either a high-star recruit or a big-time transfer portal addition, someone he believes he could unlock to another level and help them reach their pro potential in the SEC and at Auburn if he proves that Byrum Brown can put up the same type of numbers in the SEC as he did at USF in 2026, the only problem Alex Golesh will have when it comes to deciding what quarterback will start for the Tigers in 2027 is which ones he'll have to say no to.