Seasoned Gators Blown Away By Freshman WR's Mentality

The Florida Gators head into the 2025 season with an overhauled, revamped wide receiver room. One of the headline additions is incoming freshman and legacy Gator Vernell Brown III.

Coming from a long line of family members to wear orange and blue during their college careers, including wearing them en route to national championships, expectations could be a bit higher compared to other top recruits. 

The expectations don’t appear to be lost on Brown. His efforts in camp have stood out to his teammates.   

Wide receiver Aidan Mizell is impressed with where Brown’s head is at heading into his true freshman campaign. 

“He came in with a real pro mentality,” Mizell said. “He attacks his work; he’s a real hard worker in the weight room, on the field, recovery, every little thing. He has a good mentality about it.”

There’s little doubt in the junior’s opinion that when Brown gets the call to take the field, he’s going to make an impact. 

“I feel like whenever he’s gonna be needed, he’s gonna be ready,” Mizell said. “Whenever that is, I don’t know, I’m not the coach.”

Gators offensive lineman Bryce Lovett concurred with the notion that Brown brings a strong mentality to the table. Along with being impressed with his talent, he’s noticed the freshman’s desire to make his presence known in a positive way. 

"Again, great speed guy,” Lovett said. “He's extremely agile. He's going to be really good. I think him, as a young guy, even though he's kind of younger, he's came in trying to be a leader on the team, kind of just having a voice and speaking up for everybody. So, I think that's great to have."

He hasn’t taken the field for a single snap in a regular-season game, and he’s already viewed as a rising leader in the locker room. That’s pretty telling of what Billy Napier has on his hands. 

Coming out of high school, the latest member of the Brown family to suit up for the Gators was a top-five wide receiver recruit in the country and a top-three prospect from the state of Florida. 

In the long run, Brown is expected to be part of a young receiving corps, providing quarterback DJ Lagway with lethal options. Along with Brown, freshman wide receiver Dallas Wilson is expected to make some type of impact this season. 

With tune-up games early in the season against Long Island and USF, the Gators will have a prime opportunity to get Brown and other young players reps ahead of stiffer competition that most of the Gators' schedule will consist of. 

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