It didn’t really come as much of a shock to Gator Nation on Sunday, but legacy wide receiver Vernell Brown III announced via livestream from his house that he has committed to the University of Florida. The news means he will be following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and uncle as UF football players. The 6-foot, 165-pound Brown, who is the No.
3 player in the Sentinel’s 2025 Central Florida Super60 , picked the Gators over FSU, Ohio State and Miami. “The recruiting process is a lot with a lot of information being thrown at you, so just having that resource in my dad, he really helped me keep the main things being the main things,” Brown III said. Recruited by Steve Spurrier out of Gainesville High, dad played during the Ron Zook era, from 2001-05, missing the Gators national title season of 2006 by one year.
Grandpa played defensive back with the Gators in the 1980s, and uncle Vincent Brown also was a Gators football player. Even though, however, that he has grown up in a Gator family, and he was raised in Gainesville for the better part of his life, Brown III said it was not a simple choice of picking Florida for that reason. “Sure, I grew up around it and I was naturally drawn to UF,” Brown III said, “but I can’t say that throughout my recruiting process it was end all be all UF.
There were times UF wasn’t the No. 1 school. “Every last school in that final four, they were all the No.
1 school at different points in time.” Then one day, he was driving in the car one day with his parents and they started launching questions at him. “The school that answered 90 percent of those questions was UF,” Brown II said.
“So after that conversation, if there was to be still any other consideration, it would just be me complicating up the process, so it became pretty clear.” He said his family did not try to sway him toward the Gators. His father, Vernell II, said he has always allowed his children to make their own decisions.
Vernell Brown II was a do-everything player at UF beginning in 2000, playing for the Gators during the Ron Zook era. Vernon Brown II and his wife, Emiliana Brown, whom he met at UF, have five children. Other than Vernell III, there is Paris, 20, who attends FSU; Kendall, 19, is a long and triple jumper on the track and field team at Florida; Corey, 16, plays center at Jones; and the youngest is nine-year-old track star Mela.
“It was one of those things where, you know, I always wanted my kids to go where they want to go, because it’s a decision that impacts the for not just the next three to five years, but for a lifetime,” Brown II said. “But for him choosing to follow in my footsteps is big considering that I know what comes along with it when you are a part of Gator Nation.” He said there was no persuasion.
“I never interject. I just make sure my children understand there are pros and cons to every situation and that you make an educated decision,” said Brown II, who works in the sports management field. He can wait to see his son running passing routes in The Swamp.
“It will be a beautiful thing to watch him compete in The Swamp,” Brown III said. The younger Brown flashed onto the scene a year ago, thanks largely in part due to the family’s decision to move to Orlando last summer. He had begun his high school career at Wildwood High, but he wasn’t getting much attention.
In his first season at Jones, Brown III suddenly became a familiar name blared out over the loudspeakers at Jones games every Friday Night. He ended the year with 63 catches for 1,230 yards and nine touchdowns. He continued to make impressions this year on the summer camp circuit, so much so that former Rivals analyst Mike Farrell even named him one of the top 10 receivers in the nation for the Class of 2025.
Brown III has taken then attention in stride. “It’s still the same Vernell, it’s just that more people know me now,” he laughed. He is a fun, mild-mannered young man who articulates himself very well and he is an exceptional student, carrying a 4.
9 weighted GPA at Jones. “There were a hell of a lot of guys who were getting a hell of a lot more attention that he was early on,” Jones II said. “I told him that recruiting is and individual thing.
Everybody processes differently. “You have some guys who blow up early and some who blow up late. The biggest thing is who is at the top when you get to the finish line.
” Brown III’s finish line, for now, is Florida. That could change come December signing day, Brown says he plans to be an early enrollee at UF. He’s just happy to have the process completed and he can’t way to get started at UF.
He says Gators fans can expect, “an ultimate competitor, a leader and team player and just a really good person, above all.” Asked if the enticement of NIL money had anything to do with his final decision, Brown III said no, that the NIL packages discussed with each of his four finalists were similar in numbers. When told of the rumor that he would be getting $600,000 and a car to attend UF, Brown III laughed and said, “Where did you hear that?” Now he will focus his attention on helping Jones get back into the state championship game, where the Tigers lost to Miami Northwestern in 2019.
Jones faltered in the state semifinals at Homestead last season after Brown III left the game in the first half with a concussion, limiting what Jones could do offensively. “I need at least 15 touchdowns, 1,000 yards and really a state championship. That’s the main goal,” Brown III said of the upcoming season.
“We just can’t seem to get over that hump. I feel like it’s ours to lose.” At UF, Brown III will join former Jones teammate D’Antre Robinson, an incoming freshman defensive lineman this season.
Chris Hays can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays . He can be reached via email at [email protected] .
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