‘Pro Mentality’: Vernell Brown III Already Standing Out At Florida

It is no secret that Florida freshman wide receiver Vernell Brown III has the makings to be a superstar. At six feet, 178 pounds, the former five-star recruit Brown comes into his first year in Gainesville as part of a loaded freshman class at the position.

Brown has stood out amongst his first-year wideout counterparts including Dallas Wilson, Naeshaun Montgomery, and Muizz Tounkara.

Florida lost its top two targets to the NFL from last season in Chimere Dike and Elijhah Badger. Their most experienced receiver, Eugene Wilson III, has dealt with a complicated injury history.

This leaves room for all four newcomers at the position to make an impact in their first season. Wilson looked to be the star of the group early on, but a lower-body injury at the start of fall camp opened the door for Brown.

Aidan Warner to Vernell Brown III in Florida’s first scrimmage pic.twitter.com/zBTNbDI28s

— Nick Marcinko (@marcinko_nick) August 9, 2025

“Vernell Brown III, I think, has taken full advantage of the opportunities he’s gotten. He’s proven to me that he’s ready to play. Then others have flashed, you know, we got a lot of guys that have flashed, but I’m looking for consistency,” Coach Napier said on Monday.

Coaches have not yet determined if Brown will win a starting job, given the competition. However, he continues to take first-team reps on offense and on special teams as a kickoff and punt returner. During the spring, Brown took first-team reps after Wilson III was still rehabbing from an injury in 2024. While he did not dominate the spring game, he still led the blue team with four catches for 34 yards.

Brown put up nearly 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in two seasons at Jones High School, earning five-star status. UF pursued him heavily until his eventual commitment to the Gators in July 2024. Brown then became the fourth member of his family to wear that Gator logo on his chest. His father, Vernell Brown II (2001-05) and grandfather Vernell Brown Sr. (1982-85) are both Gator football alumni. He is also the nephew of Vincent Brown Sr., a member of UF’s 2008 National Championship team. Vernell’s cousin Vincent Jr. joined the team as the fifth Brown-family Gator football player.

Every time reporters ask about Brown this spring and fall, people highlight the same traits—work ethic, drive, and skill.

“He came in with a real pro mentality. He attacks his work, a real hard worker in the weight room, on the field, recovery, every little thing,” WR Aiden Mizell said about Brown. “I feel like whenever he’s going to be needed, he’s going to be ready whenever that is.”

Later in his press conference, reporters asked Napier what makes Brown stand out from the rest of the receivers.

“I think his attention to detail, most really elite receivers are consumed with the details, they’re OCD, they’re very particular about everything. The great ones that I’ve coached are very particular about how things need to be, and that carries over how they play. It carries over to how they prepare, their recovery, note-taking in meetings, the precision in the routes, the hand selection, the release plan, the top of route separation plan, the football intelligence,” Napier said. “Receiver is a skilled position; we have a lot of guys here that run really fast for our track team that cannot play receiver…you have to be a true student in the game to be an elite receiver – and he’s that, he has the traits to be an elite receiver because of that.”

“You can just tell when you see a man, I just take notice of these guys,” Napier said. “If they’re sloppy, typically that doesn’t carry over, that’s what I would say.”

Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, SEC