Florida football added a player to its 2025 roster through the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday who is rooted deeply at the university.
Safety [autotag]Vincent Brown Jr[/autotag]. whose father was a running back on the 2008 national championship team — among many other family members who played for the program — spent his first two seasons with the Southeastern Fire and will be moving on to Gainesville with two years of eligibility remaining.
He will be the seventh member of his family to wear the beloved Orange and Blue on the collegiate gridiron when he joins 19 other players as preferred walk-ons.
Brown appeared in 10 games for the Fire during his freshman campaign, recording three solo tackles and a pass breakup. He stepped up his game last season amassing 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, seven pass breakups and an interception over nine games en route to a Second-Team All-Sun Conference selection.
Brown family history at Florida
“There is a long tradition between the Browns and the University of Florida,” Vernell Brown Sr. told Gators Online last summer.
“My brother Charlie actually played for the University of Florida back in 1973 under the Doug Dickey era. He was actually the first receiver to sign with UF out of the Brown family and then my brother Johnell came along in 1979. He actually signed as a quarterback with UF as well from Gainesville High School and played for Charlie Pell.
“Then along came Vernell, who actually paid for Ron Zook and Urban Meyer. And then my young son Vince came along. He played under Urban Meyer and then Vernell came back under the Dan Mullen era on the staff and stayed on with Billy Napier.
“My time at UF was great, man. I learned a lot. I made some mistakes, but I also learned from them. And I can’t thank UF enough for giving me the upbringing and the know-how to be a man and to be a student-athlete.”
Vincent joins wide receiver Vernell Brown III as a fellow Brown family legacy player on the 2025 football squad.
Other family members who have or are currently matriculating at Florida are Emiliana and his mother Brittany Brown, who are graduates of the university, along with freshman Kendall Brown who is a member of the track team.
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