GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Vernell Brown III’s initial availability for the Florida Gators‘ homecoming matchup on Saturday against South Carolina has been revealed.
Brown III, who missed last week’s loss against Missouri with a knee injury, is questionable for the game, giving him a 50 percent chance to play, according to the SEC’s availability report guidelines.
During his portion of Wednesday’s SEC Teleconference, head coach Jon Sumrall explained that Brown III ran in practice early in the week, while Wednesday was more of a “recovery day.”
“He looks a lot better,” Sumrall said. “… He seems really optimistic. Like I’ve told you guys, a lot of it is just his confidence and if he’s able to go play. He seemed a lot more confident today than I’ve seen him in the last week and a half. So, that’s encouraging.”
Brown III first suffered his injury, a low-grade sprain, in the second quarter of the win against Ole Miss two weeks ago and did not return to the game. An MRI the following day revealed no long-term injuries, but Brown III was held out of Saturday’s contest at Missouri, leaving the Gators without its top receiver in the 45-17 loss.
Sumrall said on Monday that Brown III’s availability this week will mostly come down to confidence.
“At this point with him, it’s up to just his level of confidence in being able to do it, but he’s trending positively,” he said. “What does that mean for Saturday? I don’t know yet. But he has the ability to run, but he’s just got to see how confident he is in cutting it loose.”
Brown III is currently second on the team in receptions (17), receiving yards (271) and receiving touchdowns (two), all of which are behind Dallas Wilson.
Also listed on Florida’s initial availability report are running back/kick returner London Montgomery (questionable), corner Dijon Johnson (probable) and safety Bryce Thornton (probable). Thornton suffered a soft tissue issue in his lower body during pregame warmups last week, which forced him out of the game.
“He’s got a really good shot at being available, just depends on how he feels as he goes in the week,” Sumrall said on Monday.
Players listed as “probable” have a 75 percent chance to play.
Florida will have updated availability reports on Thursday and Friday at approximately 8:10 p.m., with a gameday availability report scheduled to be released on Saturday at approximately 11:15 a.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. with television coverage on SEC Network.
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