SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 22, 2026

Vernell Brown III

Florida Gators

Press Conference

Q. Coach Sumrall has had first-year success wherever he's been. How's that going to bleed over into -- and what you've seen so far where that successful repeating his first year at Florida?

VERNELL BROWN III: I can't really speak to results of games. But I will say that the whole team is putting in the work and we all believe in what we can do and our capabilities. So I think we're doing everything that we can to make sure we're in the best position to have those results.

Q. Team goals obviously are at the top. What's your individual goals, though, that you're aspiring to to make those team goals happen?

VERNELL BROWN III: I just want to go out there and be the best player I can be every game. Like I say, the results, the stats and all that is a byproduct of the work. So just going in and putting in the work and winning each day. That way, when opportunities present itself, I'm prepared.

Q. Coach told us this morning that Dallas Wilson is going to be back for fall camp. Just how exciting is that for you guys? What have you seen him put in the work this offseason?

VERNELL BROWN III: It's been really good to see Dallas go through his process after he was battling the injury. But just to see him go throughout that process and become healthy and be back for the season, man, it's exciting.

Q. What is it like playing for the same team that not only your dad played for, but also your uncle and grandfather? And how are you living up to their legacy?

VERNELL BROWN III: It means everything. Being a kid from Gainesville, having that Florida Gator legacy and deciding to come to the University of Florida and wear the same jerseys in the same stadium and locker room that they were in, it means everything.

Obviously they set a legacy before me, and I'm doing everything that I can to uphold their legacy and also create my own legacy for myself and take our legacy to a new level.

Q. Talking about legacy, Florida has flown under the radar, seems like it's flying under the radar. How badly do you want to put Florida back on the SEC radar? And how far off is the program from getting there?

VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, I can't really speak to how far off we are. Like I said, I know we're putting in the work to be the best we can on Saturdays.

I definitely think we are flying under the radar. Florida, obviously, in the early 2000s, Florida was the program, the standard. And we're doing everything we can to get back to that.

Q. Last year, you played with Eugene Wilson. Can you just speak to a little bit about what he is as a player and a person to play with?

VERNELL BROWN III: Eugene is a great player, great person. Me and him have a really good relationship outside of football. But he was a guy, an older guy in the room obviously who had that experience. He was someone that I can go to and ask different questions. But wish Eugene much success in the future.

Q. Where do you feel your game currently stands compared to that final snap against Florida State last season to now? What do you feel needs to be done before week one?

VERNELL BROWN III: I feel like my game has risen to a whole new level. Obviously, I've had a whole offseason to continue to develop and improve as a player, and I feel like I'm fully prepared for week one. And I'm continuing to win the days and, like I say, put in the work to be the best player I can be.

Q. Saturday, September night in Gainesville. It's hot and humid. You're standing in the tunnel again. Everybody's out doing the chomp. You still getting goosebumps?

VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, for sure. I feel like The Swamp is unlike any other environment. And every time I'm in The Swamp, it feels like a dream.

Q. Staff wants to move you around, and Buster Faulkner wants to move you around, inside/outside, use you in many ways different ways. How are you embracing the new look offense and those new roles?

VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, just learning everything. That way when they do move me to whatever spots, there's no drop-off, there's no question. I'm fully confident that I'll be able to do my job and knowing what my job is.

And also from a leadership standpoint, learning everything that, with the younger guys or the guys that may have any questions, I'm a guy that they can come to for anything, and I'll be able to answer it for them.

Q. I know you're a team-oriented goal and team goals and all that, but how hungry are you for that first touchdown? Did you think that one against FSU was a catch as well?

VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, they ruled it not a catch. So ultimately it wasn't a catch. But, like I say, I'm just putting in the work to be the best player I can be, and I'll be sure that I'm ready when the opportunity presents itself.

Q. With you being one of the younger veterans, who are some of the older veterans on the team that you look up to on and off the field to succeed in this tough conference?

VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, two of the guys that are here, Myles Graham and Jadan Baugh, this will be their third year with the program. So they've had two years of experience, and guys who have that experience that I can lean on and ask questions who's in similar positions that I'm in.

Q. Week three, you travel to Auburn, and then you turned around and you've got Ole Miss coming home. Can you talk to us a little bit just how difficult that SEC schedule grind is?

VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, I think that's what you join the conference for, right? SEC, any given Saturday is known as arguably the best conference in the country. I feel like it's the best conference in the country.

But you know what you signed up for when you commit to play for an SEC school. So, I mean, I love it personally. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Going into your second season with the Gators, how do you think your role has changed as a leader within the locker room?

VERNELL BROWN III: I definitely feel like guys look to me more as a leader, for sure. Just having that experience, being somebody that's made plays on Saturdays and being that vocal leader throughout the offseason. So I definitely think that I'm going to have to continue embracing those roles as we go into the season.

Q. What is it about Buster Faulkner that stands out about him compared to maybe other offensive coordinators you've played under in your career?

VERNELL BROWN III: One, I haven't played for very many. But Coach Faulkner is very personable. I love the personability that he has, and just how he creates his system around the players.

Obviously, he has experience in a number of different style of offenses, but I genuinely feel that his offense is whatever that puts his players in the best position to make plays.

Q. Jadan was in here a little while ago and he said that the coaching staff coached like it's their last day. Do you get that perception? And then how does that carry over to the rest of the team? You guys take every rep like it could be the last.

VERNELL BROWN III: Right. Absolutely. I think their approach to it definitely bleeds into the team. And just having those coaches that you know love you and it makes you want to play harder for not only them, but for the team and the program as well.

Q. Unless somebody's played football, it's hard to explain what culture is. What's the culture at Florida?

VERNELL BROWN III: I definitely think we have a really great culture. Since Coach Sumrall and his staff has been here, they've done a really good job implementing it. And as players, it's our job to uphold that culture and standard.

If we're lacking, it's our job as leaders to bring the guys who is not quite there along and make sure that we're in the best position.

Q. Your new jersey number reflects significant history and expectations. How does that reflect your growth as a player?

VERNELL BROWN III: Number one has always been a goal for me just because of what you said, like, the expectation and what it means at the University of Florida. Just to be able to earn that number has been amazing. Now I'm doing everything that I can to uphold that standard.

Q. With Florida being so deep in your bloodstream, at the end of the third quarter when they crank Tom Petty, do you sing along? And what does that mean to you?

VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, of course, I sing along every time. You know, I know the song word for word. I didn't know it before I got there, but I was always mumbling it.

But I mean it just means everything. Just everything about The Swamp, the Florida Gator brand, Florida Gator football and the University of Florida in general means everything.