2005 Football Roster

16 Vernell Brown

  • Height 5-8
  • Weight 165
  • Class Senior
  • Hometown Gainesville
  • Highschool Gainesville

Biography

Completed undergraduate work in May of 2005…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 2005…

CAREER: Played in 45 games, with 11 starts…Signed as a defensive back out of high school but began his career at wide receiver and returned to cornerback during the 2003 season…Was part of the wide receiver rotation and returned punts in 2002 as a freshman…Had seven career carries for 31 yards (4.4 avg) and also caught six passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg)…Had 59 career punt returns for 489 yards (8.3 avg)…

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 win…Was a team captain and member of the Leadership Committee…Returned a team-high 25 punts this year for a total of 190 yards to average 7.6 yards per return…Made his return to the starting lineup against Iowa in the Outback Bowl, less than two months after suffering his broken leg…Recorded the first touchdown of his career with a 60-yard interception return in the second quarter against Iowa in the Outback Bowl…Led the team with three interceptions…Finished eighth on the Gators defense with 41 tackles…Was fourth overall on the team with 34 total tackles in 25 solo efforts before his injury…Was second on the team for pass break-ups, with six…One of four Gators to record at least two interceptions this season…Notched one interception for a loss of three yards against the Commodores…Recorded four tackles against Georgia, with three solo and one assisted effort…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 game…Led the team in tackles against Tennessee, with seven, including one tackle for a loss of three yards…Led the team in tackles against Louisiana Tech, with five; also, forced a Bulldog fumble, the first of his career…Added seven to this tackle total, with four solo and three assisted efforts in the Gators' road swing to Louisiana State…Returned five of six punts against Mississippi State, to record 38 of the Gators' 47 punt return yards, including a long of 14…Recorded six solo tackles in the Gators' home opener against Wyoming…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 yards…

2004: The first cornerback off the bench who was also the the starting punt returner for Florida for the first six games….Went back to returning punts in the Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida State match-ups…Played in all 12 games for Florida for 228 total plays… Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll…Saw the most action on the UF squad on punt return teams with 49 plays…Finished sixth in the SEC in punt returns with 7.7 punts per return…Recorded a career high 43-yard punt return in the game against Kentucky…The return was the longest by a Florida players since 2000, when Lito Sheppard returned a 57-yarder… Recorded 12 tackles, including 11 solo…Four of 12 tackles came in last three games of the season…

2003: Saw action in 10 games (SJSU, Miami, FAMU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, FSU, Iowa) for 73 plays…Lined up at receiver in seven games (SJSU, FAMU, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa), catching two passes for 14 yards…Returned seven punts for 95 yards (13.6 avg), the highest punt return average on the team…Returned three punts for 63 yards (21.0 avg) in the season opener vs. SJSU…Caught first pass of the season against Florida A&M, a 9-yard reception…Had a 5-yard catch versus Iowa in the Outback Bowl…Saw action versus Miami, Tennessee and FSU on special teams…Also dressed for the Kentucky, Vanderbilt and South Carolina games, but did not see action….

2002: Played in all 13 games for 232 snaps and one start (Vanderbilt)… Saw action in UF's wide receiver rotation and returned punts… Had 10 touches for 43 yards, including six carries for 29 yards (4.8 avg)…Four receptions for 14 yards (3.5 avg)…Had three carries of 10-plus yards…Had a season-high 44 snaps vs. Miami …Made first career start vs. Vanderbilt…Shared team lead with three catches vs. Ohio…Also caught a pass versus LSU…Received the Best Effort on Defense Award during the spring of 2002…

2001:Worked with the scout team at defensive back and was redshirted…

PREP: The Gainesville Sun's 2000 Area Offensive Player of the Year…Received All-Southeast Region recognition from PrepStar in its "athlete" category…First-team All-State (5A)…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 defense…Starting point guard on Gainesville's 2000 5A state championship basketball team…Also visited North Carolina, SMU, Florida A&M and Florida State…High school coach was Rick Swain…

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)

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 16

    2001Freshman

    CB
    5'8" 148 lbs
    16
  • 16

    2002Freshman

    WR
    5'8" 165 lbs
    16
  • 16

    2003Sophomore

    WR
    5'8" 152 lbs
    16
  • 16

    2004Junior

    DB
    5'8" 165 lbs
    16
  • 16

    2005Senior

    CB
    5'8" 165 lbs
    16