Florida Gators superstar freshman earns an achievement never before accomplished in Gainesville after stellar season
Florida Gators freshman Vernell Brown III made the All SEC team three times, a first in program history.
The Florida Gators had an injury-plagued season this year. Because of that, they finished 4-8 and had head coach Billy Napier relieved of his duties. The injuries were so vast that at one point, they had 20% of their scholarship players on the injury report.
Since they had so many injuries, the Gators had to play a lot of their young players, especially true freshmen. It’s not a great situation to play that many true freshman serious snaps, but there is good that can come out of it, especially in 2026 with head coach Jon Sumrall taking over.
Vernell Brown III earns three Freshman All-SEC honors
This is the week of awards across the board. The All-SEC team was announced earlier this week and it saw five Florida Gators make it, including Rimington Award finalist center Jake Slaughter being the only one to make the first team.
The All Freshman team was announced on Thursday, and two Gators made it onto the list: edge rusher Jayden Woods and wide receiver Vernell Brown III.
Woods got a lot of run due to multiple injuries on the defensive line. Caleb Banks missed all but three games, and LJ McCray missed the final 10 games. Plus, George Gumbs Jr., Michai Boireau, and Tyreak Sapp all missed time with injuries. Woods rewarded the Gators with an excellent season. He notched 3.5 sacks, 5.0 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a fumble recovery, and an interception. He is primed to see a much bigger role with Sapp and Gumbs heading off to the NFL.
The other really impressive element for the Gators was Brown. While he didn’t have a touchdown in the 10 games he played, Brown made the team as a wide receiver, all-purpose player, and return specialist.
He caught a team-high 40 passes for 512 yards, along with 261 yards in the return game. His 773 all-purpose yards were second among freshmen in the country. He made a difference from the jump and has an incredibly bright future.
Sumrall has a lot of talent on the roster, and Napier’s final full recruiting class projects very well.