2005 Football Roster
Roster
Vernell Brown
- Height:
- 5-8
- Weight:
- 165
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Gainesville
- High School:
- Gainesville
Completed undergraduate work in May of 2005β¦Labeled the "Face of Florida Football" by head coach Urban Meyer for his tireless work ethic and leadership characteristics prior to the season-opener in 2005β¦
CAREER: Played in 45 games, with 11 startsβ¦Signed as a defensive back out of high school but began his career at wide receiver and returned to cornerback during the 2003 seasonβ¦Was part of the wide receiver rotation and returned punts in 2002 as a freshmanβ¦Had seven career carries for 31 yards (4.4 avg) and also caught six passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg)β¦Had 59 career punt returns for 489 yards (8.3 avg)β¦
2005: Started the first eight games at cornerback and was the Gators first option at punt returner prior to suffering a broken leg in the Vanderbilt winβ¦Was a team captain and member of the Leadership Committeeβ¦Returned a team-high 25 punts this year for a total of 190 yards to average 7.6 yards per returnβ¦Made his return to the starting lineup against Iowa in the Outback Bowl, less than two months after suffering his broken legβ¦Recorded the first touchdown of his career with a 60-yard interception return in the second quarter against Iowa in the Outback Bowlβ¦Led the team with three interceptionsβ¦Finished eighth on the Gators defense with 41 tacklesβ¦Was fourth overall on the team with 34 total tackles in 25 solo efforts before his injuryβ¦Was second on the team for pass break-ups, with sixβ¦One of four Gators to record at least two interceptions this seasonβ¦Notched one interception for a loss of three yards against the Commodoresβ¦Recorded four tackles against Georgia, with three solo and one assisted effortβ¦Posted a season long punt return with a 29 yard effort against the Bulldogs, for a total of 59 yards on three carries for the gameβ¦Led the team in tackles against Tennessee, with seven, including one tackle for a loss of three yardsβ¦Led the team in tackles against Louisiana Tech, with five; also, forced a Bulldog fumble, the first of his careerβ¦Added seven to this tackle total, with four solo and three assisted efforts in the Gators' road swing to Louisiana Stateβ¦Returned five of six punts against Mississippi State, to record 38 of the Gators' 47 punt return yards, including a long of 14β¦Recorded six solo tackles in the Gators' home opener against Wyomingβ¦Posted the first interception of his career in the fourth quarter of the Wyoming game, and also broke up a Cowboy pass attempt.. Returned five punts for 26 yards in the Wyoming game, including one return for 22 yardsβ¦
2004: The first cornerback off the bench who was also the the starting punt returner for Florida for the first six gamesβ¦.Went back to returning punts in the Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida State match-upsβ¦Played in all 12 games for Florida for 228 total playsβ¦ Named to the SEC Academic Honor Rollβ¦Saw the most action on the UF squad on punt return teams with 49 playsβ¦Finished sixth in the SEC in punt returns with 7.7 punts per returnβ¦Recorded a career high 43-yard punt return in the game against Kentuckyβ¦The return was the longest by a Florida players since 2000, when Lito Sheppard returned a 57-yarderβ¦ Recorded 12 tackles, including 11 soloβ¦Four of 12 tackles came in last three games of the seasonβ¦
2003: Saw action in 10 games (SJSU, Miami, FAMU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, FSU, Iowa) for 73 playsβ¦Lined up at receiver in seven games (SJSU, FAMU, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa), catching two passes for 14 yardsβ¦Returned seven punts for 95 yards (13.6 avg), the highest punt return average on the teamβ¦Returned three punts for 63 yards (21.0 avg) in the season opener vs. SJSUβ¦Caught first pass of the season against Florida A&M, a 9-yard receptionβ¦Had a 5-yard catch versus Iowa in the Outback Bowlβ¦Saw action versus Miami, Tennessee and FSU on special teamsβ¦Also dressed for the Kentucky, Vanderbilt and South Carolina games, but did not see actionβ¦.
2002: Played in all 13 games for 232 snaps and one start (Vanderbilt)β¦ Saw action in UF's wide receiver rotation and returned puntsβ¦ Had 10 touches for 43 yards, including six carries for 29 yards (4.8 avg)β¦Four receptions for 14 yards (3.5 avg)β¦Had three carries of 10-plus yardsβ¦Had a season-high 44 snaps vs. Miami β¦Made first career start vs. Vanderbiltβ¦Shared team lead with three catches vs. Ohioβ¦Also caught a pass versus LSUβ¦Received the Best Effort on Defense Award during the spring of 2002β¦
2001:Worked with the scout team at defensive back and was redshirtedβ¦
PREP: The Gainesville Sun's 2000 Area Offensive Player of the Yearβ¦Received All-Southeast Region recognition from PrepStar in its "athlete" categoryβ¦First-team All-State (5A)β¦Threw for 1,733 yards with 13 TDs and rushed for 552 yards and three TDs in 2000 in addition to having four interceptions on defenseβ¦Starting point guard on Gainesville's 2000 5A state championship basketball teamβ¦Also visited North Carolina, SMU, Florida A&M and Florida Stateβ¦High school coach was Rick Swainβ¦
MAJOR: B.S. Family Youth & Community Sciences (May, 2005); Graduate Studies-Family Youth and Community Sciences.
| CAREER DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||
| Year | UT-AT | TT | TBL | QBS | FF | FR | PD | INT |
| 2004 | 11-11 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32-9 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Totals: | 43-20 | 63 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| CAREER RECEIVING STATISTICS | ||||||||
| Year | No. | Yds | Avg. | TDs | Long | |||
| 2002 | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 0 | 9 | |||
| 2003 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 9 | |||
| Totals: | 6 | 28 | 4.7 | 0 | 18 | |||
| CAREER RUSHING STATISTICS | ||||||||
| Year | No. | Yds | Avg. | TDs | Long | |||
| 2002 | 6 | 29 | 4.8 | 0 | 15 | |||
| 2003 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Totals: | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 0 | 15 | |||
| CAREER KICK RETURN STATISTICS | ||||||||
| Year | No. | Yds | Avg. | TDs | Long | |||
| 2002 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| Totals: | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| CAREER PUNT RETURN STATISTICS | ||||||||
| Year | No. | Yds | Avg. | TDs | Long | |||
| 2002 | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 17 | |||
| 2003 | 7 | 95 | 13.6 | 0 | 25 | |||
| 2004 | 21 | 161 | 7.7 | 0 | 43 | |||
| 2005 | 26 | 197 | 7.6 | 0 | 29 | |||
| Totals: | 59 | 489 | 8.3 | 0 | 43 | |||
BROWN'S CAREER HIGHS
Tackles: 7 (twice, last vs. LSU, 2005)
QB Sacks: None
Forced Fumbles: 1 (Louisiana Tech, 2005)
Interceptions: 1 (twice, last vs. Vanderbilt, 2005)
Rushing Attempts: 1 (six times, last vs. Georgia, 2002)
Rushing Yards: 15 (Ohio, 2002)
Rushing TDs: None
Longest Rush: 15 (MTSU, 2004)
Receptions: 3 (Ohio, 2002)
Receiving Yards: 13 (Ohio, 2002)
Receiving TDs: None
Longest Reception: 9 (Ohio, 2002)
