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There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding Auburn football ahead of the 2026 season as the Tigers boast a new coaching staff and return just two starters from last season's roster.
Despite the unpredictability, Athlon Sports has studied Auburn football's new-look program and has broken down the Tigers' strongest and weakest areas ahead of the 2026 season. Coincidentally, both reside on the offensive side of the football.
Athlon Sports ranked every unit for every SEC program in its preseason magazine released earlier this summer. For Auburn, its best asset this season will be its quarterback unit, with the unit facing the most questions being its offensive line. Auburn needed to rebuild both units, basically from scratch, so the questions surrounding both aspects are understandable.
Auburn's best asset, its quarterback room, ranks No. 5 in the SEC. USF transfer Byrum Brown is viewed as the fifth-best quarterback in the SEC ahead of the season after posting 7,690 passing yards and 2,265 rushing yards in four seasons with the Bulls, scoring 92 total touchdowns.
Athlon Sports ranks Brown as the No. 4 player to transfer into an SEC program during the offseason due to him being a "bruiser" who led the nation in total offense and total touchdowns last season under Alex Golesh's watch at USF.
Brown trails LSU's Sam Leavitt, Georgia's Gunner Stockton, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, and Texas' Arch Manning for the top spot among the SEC's top signal-callers, and is ahead of several notable quarterbacks, including Marcel Reed of Texas A&M, South Carolina's Lanorris Sellers, and Oklahoma's John Mateer.
The greatest weakness for Auburn, according to Athlon Sports' preseason outlook, is its offensive line, which ranks No. 14 among 16 SEC programs.
Most of the uncertainty surrounding Auburn's offensive line stems from the Tigers' coaching staff needing to rebuild the unit as a whole. Auburn lost center Connor Lew, guards Jeremiah Wright and Dillon Wade, and tackles Izavion Miller and Mason Murphy to the NFL draft last season, while Xavier Chapman transferred to Florida State.
The lone returner to the unit is Kail Ellis, who tied Mason Murphy by participating in 213 snaps at center last season after Lew went down with an ACL injury in Auburn's loss to Missouri in week eight. Auburn's offensive line will be experienced this season, however, as Alex Golesh brought Cole Best from USF with him to the Plains, and landed JMU tackle Jo Simmons from the transfer portal. Best logged 879 snaps at center last season, while Simmons recorded 877 snaps at left tackle for JMU, which competed in the College Football Playoff last season.
Transfers Cole Skinner, Deryc Plazz, and Jack Leyrer also turned heads during the spring, and Stanton Ramil aims to be a key contributor to the unit after battling injury issues at Michigan State. The greatest challenge for Auburn's staff this season when it comes to the offensive line will be finding the right combination that will allow the Tigers' skill players to succeed.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football: Athlon examines Auburn's best, worst unit before 2026
Continue reading...
Despite the unpredictability, Athlon Sports has studied Auburn football's new-look program and has broken down the Tigers' strongest and weakest areas ahead of the 2026 season. Coincidentally, both reside on the offensive side of the football.
Athlon Sports ranked every unit for every SEC program in its preseason magazine released earlier this summer. For Auburn, its best asset this season will be its quarterback unit, with the unit facing the most questions being its offensive line. Auburn needed to rebuild both units, basically from scratch, so the questions surrounding both aspects are understandable.
Auburn's best asset, its quarterback room, ranks No. 5 in the SEC. USF transfer Byrum Brown is viewed as the fifth-best quarterback in the SEC ahead of the season after posting 7,690 passing yards and 2,265 rushing yards in four seasons with the Bulls, scoring 92 total touchdowns.
Athlon Sports ranks Brown as the No. 4 player to transfer into an SEC program during the offseason due to him being a "bruiser" who led the nation in total offense and total touchdowns last season under Alex Golesh's watch at USF.
Brown trails LSU's Sam Leavitt, Georgia's Gunner Stockton, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, and Texas' Arch Manning for the top spot among the SEC's top signal-callers, and is ahead of several notable quarterbacks, including Marcel Reed of Texas A&M, South Carolina's Lanorris Sellers, and Oklahoma's John Mateer.
The greatest weakness for Auburn, according to Athlon Sports' preseason outlook, is its offensive line, which ranks No. 14 among 16 SEC programs.
Most of the uncertainty surrounding Auburn's offensive line stems from the Tigers' coaching staff needing to rebuild the unit as a whole. Auburn lost center Connor Lew, guards Jeremiah Wright and Dillon Wade, and tackles Izavion Miller and Mason Murphy to the NFL draft last season, while Xavier Chapman transferred to Florida State.
The lone returner to the unit is Kail Ellis, who tied Mason Murphy by participating in 213 snaps at center last season after Lew went down with an ACL injury in Auburn's loss to Missouri in week eight. Auburn's offensive line will be experienced this season, however, as Alex Golesh brought Cole Best from USF with him to the Plains, and landed JMU tackle Jo Simmons from the transfer portal. Best logged 879 snaps at center last season, while Simmons recorded 877 snaps at left tackle for JMU, which competed in the College Football Playoff last season.
Transfers Cole Skinner, Deryc Plazz, and Jack Leyrer also turned heads during the spring, and Stanton Ramil aims to be a key contributor to the unit after battling injury issues at Michigan State. The greatest challenge for Auburn's staff this season when it comes to the offensive line will be finding the right combination that will allow the Tigers' skill players to succeed.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football: Athlon examines Auburn's best, worst unit before 2026
Continue reading...
