Coming out of the Florida spring game, all the positive headlines for the Gators surrounded wide receiver Dallas Wilson. The freshman from Tampa exploded for almost 200 yards receiving and seemingly gave Florida the gamebreaker it needed to navigate its 2025 schedule.
But then Wilson got hurt during Florida's fall camp, and in his place during the opener against LIU was a fellow freshman with a profile even higher than Wilson's that the rest of America is just now catching up to.
Vernell Brown III is an instant game-changer for Florida
Just by trotting onto the field as a starter, Vernell Brown III became just the third true freshman wide receiver in Florida Gators history to start in a season opener.
The other two are Percy Harvin and Antonio Callaway.
Brown III's stat line of three catches for 79 yards doesn't tell the complete story, as his long of 41 yards was instantly dubbed a "catch of the year candidate."
Brown III got in behind the LIU secondary and did his best Odell Beckham impersonation to haul in a one-handed catch.
But it wasn't just the one-handed catch that had The Swamp and the internet buzzing on Saturday. After an offseason of speculation on who would be the punt returner for the Gators, it was Brown III who got the nod, and he didn't disappoint.
He averaged 15 yards per return off three returns and looked like he was just one block away from taking it to the house.
If it wasn't for Brown III getting pulled towards the back half of the game, he could have gone for 125+ yards receiving on the night for his debut.
Depending on the health status of Dallas Wilson and Aidan Mizell, who both sat out on Saturday, along with Tre Wilson being relegated to his same motion role from the past two years (five catches for -4 yards, but he did have a TD), Brown III is going to be a player Gator fans are going to put their hope behind until further notice.