Alex Golesh praises QB Byrum Brown on eve of Auburn’s clash with Florida
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Alex Golesh and Byrum Brown have been joined at the hip since the 2023 season, when Golesh took the head coaching job at South Florida.
Brown was Golesh’s starting quarterback during all 3 of his seasons in Tampa, twice throwing for over 3,000 yards while combining for 54 touchdown passes and just 18 interceptions during those 2 high-octane seasons in 2023 and 2025.
But when Golesh bolted USF for the SEC and to coach on the Plains, Brown bolted with him, transferring to Auburn to be Golesh’s starting QB as the head coach and signal-caller began their new challenge in a brand-new conference. On Saturday night, that challenge starts in earnest as the Tigers host SEC rival Florida in a primetime showdown at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It’ll be the SEC opener for both 2-0 teams and it’ll kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, with Brown trying to deliver a conference victory to his old coach in Golesh’s SEC debut. On the eve of the big matchup, Golesh spoke with SEC Network and to analyst Paul Finebaum in particular about his special bond with Brown.
“Byrum is ready to rock. He’s as composed and process-driven of a young guy as I’ve been around in a really long time,” Alex Golesh said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some high-level quarterbacks. Byrum is (high-end), the way he leads, the way he communicates, the way he’s composed. I reiterated to him after that Baylor (season-opening victory) a conversation we had when he got here back in January, which is, understand this, it’s going to go up and down in terms of what people say, how people act, what the perception of you is.
“The one thing you can’t do is change who you are. Essentially, don’t listen to anybody. To go through and see what his growth has been, certainly as a player and he’s grown tremendously as a quarterback, but just the growth as a young guy to see the ups and the downs, to see him handle all of that, has been nothing short of special. He’s a special young guy. He’s earned the respect of this team very quickly.”
Auburn is off and running at 2-0, but the competition is about to get much tougher, starting with Saturday night’s showdown against Florida. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Tigers’ potential win total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
