EXCLUSIVE: Vernell Brown III reveals decision with commitment video
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The recruitment of wide receiver Vernell Brown III has reached the end of the road. The top-50 overall recruit announced his commitment on Sunday.
Brown revealed his decision live on the On3 Recruits YouTube channel with an exclusive commitment video (see below). His four finalists are Florida, Florida State, Miami and Ohio State.
“All of these schools are great programs,” Brown said. “It’s definitely a blessing to be in the process. I’ve been through it and it’s been a really good experience. I’m ready for it to be done, though.”
Brown officially visited all four schools in June after narrowing down his list of 40-plus offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M and USC.
The 5-foot-11, 173-pound Brown enjoyed his recruitment, meeting college coaches and seeing different parts of the country, but the process has run its course.
“I can say, visits have an easy way of persuading you. But me knowing what I want, not only in college, but out of life, I think that kind of helped me stay tunnel vision and not get influenced by all the outside factors … like having a good time. You have a good time everywhere,” Brown said. “So, I think just me knowing what I want and then like, can I really see myself at this school? I think that kind of helped me with everything.”
Brown is the nation’s No. 6 wide receiver in the On3 Industry rankings and the No. 33 overall prospect, one spot shy of a five-star rating. He’s a five-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Despite being a Florida legacy, Ohio State became the leader in his recruitment and both FSU and Miami made a push. Brown admits he went back and forth on his options during the recruiting process.
“Throughout the process in any recruiting process, you’re gonna be like, ‘I want to go to this school. Now I want to go to this school.’ They all have their strengths,” Brown said. “Like, one question, there’s a better school. This question, there’s a better school. This question, Florida’s the best. This question, Ohio State is the better school.
“Overall, when you ask the big picture question, what’s the best school? Not only looking at it through a football lens, but what do I want out of life? How can this program help me in 40 years versus just four? And just me answering those questions, it was always one school.”
