With the departure of Hugh Freeze and the subsequent hiring of Alex Golesh, the Auburn Tigers have had to get creative with their transfer portal additions over the past few months. More than 35 former Tigers felt they were better suited elsewhere, but Golesh did not flinch, and Auburn brought in 39 total new transfers in a single cycle. In fact, ESPN ranks Auburn’s 2026 recruiting class as the 12th-best in college football , sixth in the SEC, as LSU, Texas, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Texas A&M are the SEC squads ahead of Auburn on this list. ESPN’s article focuses heavily on one key addition: new USF transfer quarterback Byrum Brown, who is expected to start for the Tigers over Tristan Ti’a, a rising sophomore who played for Oregon State last season. “[Brown] has great size, mobility and arm strength and has always been productive despite an unusual release,” ESPN’s Craig Haubert wrote .…