Florida may have its top target back on the field Saturday.
Receiver Vernell Brown III is expected to play when the eighth-ranked Gators visit No. 25 Missouri, after leaving last weekend’s 52-28 win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss with a right knee injury.
Brown hurt the knee at the end of a 6-yard run in the second quarter, then limped to the sideline and spent the rest of the game in a protective sleeve on his leg. On Monday, coach Jon Sumrall said the early read from the medical staff was encouraging.
"Nothing serious," coach Jon Sumrall said Monday. "Relative to what you could get, we got great news after the imaging and everything.
The MRI revealed nothing that's long term. It's, right now, really going to be as much of a pain tolerance and a confidence with him being ready to go."
Sumrall also described the issue as the "lowest-grade strain you could get."
"What does that mean timeline-wise? I don't know," Sumrall said.
"A lot of that's just how he's feeling more than anything. But medically there's nothing that's going to hold him other than his own readiness.
We got to see how he responds and how he feels ready to go."
Brown has been Florida’s most productive receiver through four games. He leads the Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) with 17 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns, and he has added 16 rushing yards on three carries.
Florida also had to monitor another receiver from the Ole Miss game. Bailey Stockton came out after taking a hard shot across the middle, getting sandwiched by two defenders, though he did return. Sumrall said Stockton will be limited in practice for part of the week because of a sore back.
"He had basically a car crash on the field," Sumrall said. "He came back and fought through it. His back is a little bit sore, but there's nothing structurally wrong."
The injuries briefly opened the door for Eric Singleton Jr. to get back on the field for the first time since Florida’s season opener. Singleton had missed the previous two games while dealing with a sprained left ankle.
He finished with one catch for 38 yards and also drew a 15-yard pass-interference penalty that set up Aaron Philo’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Amir Jackson.
Sumrall said Singleton will be full go in practice this week.
In Other News...
Florida Heads Into Missouri With Undefeated Start Suddenly Under Pressure
Floridas unbeaten start has put it in an early-season spot it hoped to reach, but the pressure has already shifted as the Gators get ready for a road trip to No. 25 Missouri. A 52-28 win over Ole Miss kept Florida at 4-0 and added another layer of expectation around a team that has looked explosive enough to invite bigger questions as the schedule tightens.
Ahead of the Oct. 3 game at Faurot Field, coach Jon Sumrall also offered injury updates on several players, an important note with SEC play starting to stack up and the margin for error shrinking. Floridas recent run and the next stretch on the schedule leave little room to coast, and Missouri now becomes the kind of test that can either sustain the momentum or make the undefeated start feel a lot more fragile. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Is Suddenly Right In The Middle Of A Five-Star WR Fight
The recruiting race for Easton Royal has tightened fast, and Florida has managed to put itself squarely in the conversation for one of the most coveted wide receiver prospects in the 2027 class. Royal is still committed to Texas, but he has made multiple official visits elsewhere, including stops at Florida, LSU and Ole Miss, which is usually a sign that the picture is a lot less settled than it looks on paper.
For Florida, the encouraging part is that Royal has already said he can see himself fitting in Gainesville, and he appears to be nearing a decision. The broader backdrop here is the modern recruiting grind, where NIL chatter can reshape a pursuit in a hurry, and Florida is trying to stay in the fight as one of the schools that could pry loose a commitment that once looked firm. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious Over This AP Vote
Floridas climb in the AP Top 25 still found a surprising bit of resistance this week, with voter Matt McGavic leaving the Gators at No. 15 despite the team sitting No. 8 overall. McGavic said he was taking a cautious approach after originally putting Florida at No. 25, pointing to concerns about the defense and leaning on Ole Miss and LSU because of head-to-head results and what he expected from those teams before the season.
For Florida supporters, the frustration is easy to understand because the ranking does not appear to reflect how the Gators are playing right now. It also fits a familiar gripe with AP ballots, where some voters seem slow to fully adjust to what the current results are actually showing, even when the evidence on the field keeps piling up. [Read more 🡒]