Watch: Catch of the Year? Vernell Brown Takes an OBJ-Inspired Blinder Against Long Island

Lagway stepped forward to finish off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey Livingstone.

The game ended in a blowout 55-0 victory for the Gators. It wasn’t a surprising outcome. Long Island’s football is a fledgling program compared to Florida’s. The Sharks only managed 86 passing yards (10th lowest yards allowed in Gator’s history) and waited until nine minutes from the end to convert a successful run play.

Who is Vernell Brown?

Brown is a true freshman and a five-star recruit from Jones High School. He was ranked as the No. 3 wide receiver and No. 24 player overall in the Class of 2025 by Rivals.

The athleticism is in Brown’s blood. He comes from a family of great Florida alumni. Brown’s father played at UF from 2002 to 2005, and his grandfather was part of the team from 1982 to 1985.

Vernell’s uncle, Vincent Brown, won the 2008 national championship with the UF, and his son, Vincent Brown Jr., is currently part of the defensive backs room.

According to the UF website, Brown is only the second player for the Gators on offense since tackle  Jawaan Taylor  (now with the Kansas City Chiefs) in 2016. He joined Percy Harvin  (2006) and  Antonio Callaway  (2015) as only the third receiver ever in UF’s history to achieve that feat.

Vernell Brown finished his first college football game with three passes for 79 yards.

Promising start for the Gators

After suffering back-to-back injuries to his shoulder and calf, DJ Lagway came close to missing out on the Long Island fixture. Doctors sped up his recovery time, which helped Lagway return before the estimated date.

The five-star recruit displayed the skills that displaced Graham Mertz from the QB1 spot in 2024. Lagway completed 13 passes of 18 for 120 yards and three first-half touchdowns.

Despite the outing, Lagway claimed his performance failed to match his standards.

I definitely wasn’t excited with the way I played. I feel like I could definitely play better.

DJ Lagway said

The Gators’ offense secured 250+ passing yards and 180+ yards on the ground, without conceding a single penalty (in the offense or in defense). However, Lagway claimed that they need to improve in order to compete with bigger schools.

I feel like, as a group, it was very sloppy. We weren’t playing our brand of football. Offensively, definitely in the first half, we started off a little slow. But it’s part of it, Week 1. Stuff to build on.

The 15th-best team in the nation will now shift its attention to local rivals, the University of South Florida. The Bulls pulled off a shock 7-34 victory against 25th-ranked Boise State in their first game of the year.