Vernell Brown III speaks on decision to return to Florida for 2026
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Vernell Brown III had already indicated that he would be back at Florida for 2026. On Friday, he made it official.
Brown announced his return to the Gators via NIL and marketing partner Florida Victorious. A legacy from a Gator family with multiple generations who have sported the orange and blue, Brown calls it an honor to wear the Florida uniform.
“It’s everything. I wore the jersey growing up, always aspiring to play for the Florida Gators, so to be able to accomplish that dream and become a contributor in my first year, it was amazing,” Brown told Florida Victorious. “Obviously, I was able to accomplish my goal of Freshman All-SEC, but there’s still a lot left on the table, and I’m coming for it all next year.”
Brown earned that Freshman All-SEC honor by leading the Gators in catches (40) and receiving yards (512) while playing in just 10 of 12 games. The standout wide receiver made 6 starts as a true freshman.
As a sophomore, Brown will play for a new head coach, a new play caller, and a new position coach. Brown has said that he likes new head coach Jon Sumrall‘s “strength coach energy.” He also talked to Florida Victorious about his early impressions of new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner.
“Bringing in Coach Buster (Faulkner), I was familiar with who he was. Great hire,” Brown said. “Then, getting a chance to meet him, I didn’t really know him. So I got to meet him and start building a relationship with him, kind of learning his plan and seeing what are you going to do for us at the University of Florida.”
Marcus Davis is set to be Florida’s wide receivers coach. Davis, who previously held the same position at Auburn, has not formally been announced but has updated his social media accounts to reflect he’s now on staff at UF.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
