Florida football hadn’t seen two punt return touchdowns in a single game by the same player since Jacquez Green in 1996. That changed Saturday. Vernell Brown III housed back-to-back boots against the Campbell Fighting Camels, making his mark and taking just 3:25 of game time to do so.
Brown’s first house call came 22 seconds following the quarter break, making him the first Gator to cash in on a punt since Kadarius Toney in 2020. But while teams may want to reevaluate their special teams strategy when they gear up to face the Gators, they also have to deal with Brown’s playmaking ability on offense.
The sophomore wideout scored Florida’s first hat trick at the position since Toney did so in 2020, capped by a 14-yard touchdown reception in his already-impressive second quarter. Brown’s 219 punt return yards and record-breaking performance led Florida’s 52-3 victory against Campbell.
“Any time you score on special teams, the percentage of you winning the game goes way up. When you score twice, you almost have to screw it up to lose,” UF head coach Jon Sumrall said. “That was fun to see VB make those plays and create that momentum for us.”
Brown’s return yardage stacked up to No. 2 in Southeastern Conference history and No. 1 all-time at Florida.
“It’s a blessing,” Brown said of the accolade. “Just taking advantage of the opportunities, and credit to the work and blocking.”
At the beginning of the contest, it took all of 13 seconds for an explosive play to emerge from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Except, to the dismay of Sumrall, it was the Camels who sparked the first fireworks of the night. Campbell senior quarterback Kamden Sixkiller came out firing on the first drive of the night, articulating a seven-play, 63-yard series that was capped by an Alex Crabb field goal.
Unfortunately for Campbell (2-1), though, it was all Florida after that.
The Gators were a week out from their 45-point rout of Florida Atlantic, but their defense pumped the brakes on the momentum right out of the gate. Florida (2-0) took care of business against Campbell despite boasting major defensive issues early on.
“I thought the defense did a better job once we settled into the rhythm of the game,” Sumrall said. “Our guys settled in and played with more confidence at times in the back end.”
Despite UF’s defensive struggles on the opening drive, its offense came through. Junior quarterback Aaron Philo combatted the Camels’ opening drive success with one of his own, scoring on a 3-yard scamper two plays after he found former Georgia Tech teammate Bailey Stockton over a leaping Kaleb Simpkins for a gain of 24.
The explosiveness didn’t subside after the first handful of drives, though. After Brown’s two scores, Florida didn’t take long to celebrate in the end zone again. Philo and wideout Dallas Wilson played what appeared to be backyard football on their 40-yard touchdown. The quarterback didn’t like his original reads, rolled to his left and found the sophomore alone down the left hashmark.
The Gators flexed their offensive prowess for the second-straight week, accumulating 514 yards of offense in the win. Philo came out of Saturday having completed 76% of his passes with 242 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s played really efficient, he’s operated well, he’s been a great leader, he’s communicated at a high level, so I think we’re playing good football with him in the game right now,” Sumrall said.
Outside of Campbell's lower conference stature, it posed a threat early to Florida’s lackluster secondary. Saturday marked the first-ever matchup between the two programs and improved Florida’s all-time record against FCS teams to 26-1. The Camels headed to Gainesville undefeated and boasted back-to-back two-possession wins.
Sixkiller shined ahead of his club’s trip down south, as he put up more than 330 passing yards in each of Campbell’s victories. He also added a near-perfect quarterback rating of 153.4 in his season debut Aug. 29. Instead of extending his 2026 success, Sixkiller struggled to find his groove against Florida.
The 6-foot-3 signal caller completed just 53% of his passes and added 127 yards in the loss, 76 of which came in the first quarter. Sixkiller was pulled from the contest with 3:28 remaining in the third, ushering in backup Grayson Harvey.
Following Florida’s show-stopping opening half, the Gators’ offensive motor slowed. They were kept to just seven plays in the third quarter and accumulated 29 yards in 3:36 of game time. Penalties played a major role in the frame, stalling Florida’s momentum for the time being.
“If we play like we did in the second half, we’re about to have a real rude awakening and we’ve got a lot of improvement to do,” Sumrall said. “I’m not real pleased with where we are from a maturity standpoint of executing at a really high level all the time. What we’re about to walk into in conference play, we will get absolutely embarrassed if we don’t improve a lot.”
After three yellow flags were thrown, a failed fake punt attempt and a muffed punt, Jadan Baugh got the Gator faithful involved once again.
The sophomore continued his wildly successful 2026 campaign with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. The sprint marked Baugh’s career-long, sending The Swamp into a frenzy as Florida surpassed the 50-point mark. Baugh also became the seventh Gator ever to notch three-consecutive outings with 100-plus rushing yards.
The touchdown, and the Gators’ 49-point lead, sparked backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr.’s entrance into the game. The sophomore’s arm was hit from behind, assisting linebacker Jack Butler to corral his first career interception with 10:51 remaining. Jones buttoned up the blowout win with 58 yards and went 8 for 11 passing.
The Gators will look to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2019 when they travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers for the teams’ first matchup since 2019. Kickoff is set for Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rileyorovitz.
Riley is a junior sports journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and Gators football beat reporter. Currently in her third semester with The Alligator, she has previously covered Gators swim & dive and Gators gymnastics. She is an avid South Florida sports fan and enjoys playing/following all sports in her free time.
