Ahead of its Saturday afternoon matchup against No. 25 Missouri (3-1), No. 8 Florida (4-0) has released its initial availability report on Wednesday night.
Notably, wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who suffered a low-grade knee strain in UF’s 52-28 win over Ole Miss on Sept. 26, was listed as questionable. Brown leads the Gators with 17 catches for 271 yards and two receiving touchdowns in 2026, as well as two punt-return touchdowns.
On Monday, head coach Jon Sumrall said that the injury is nothing “long-term” but that his status for Saturday’s game remained up in the air.
“What does that mean timeline-wise? I don’t know,” Sumrall said. “A lot of that is just how he’s feeling more than anything. But medically, there’s nothing that’s going to hold him other than his own readiness, and so we gotta see how he responds and how he feels ready to go.”
Fellow wide receiver Bailey Stockton received a questionable designation due to a back injury. Stockton suffered the injury when he was crushed by a hit by Ole Miss safety Joenel Aguero that resulted in a targeting penalty in the second quarter. The senior did return to the game in the second half.
“[Bailey] basically [was in] a car crash on the field with two guys,” Sumrall said. “Came back and fought through it. You know, back’s a little bit sore, but it’s nothing structurally wrong, and so, working through that.”
Stockton has made 13 grabs for 106 yards and a touchdown this season.
Notably, Eric Singleton Jr., who made his return against Ole Miss and had a 38-yard catch, is a full-go in practice and was not listed on the availability report.
“Nobody’s 100 percent at this point. If you are, you haven’t played,” Sumrall said. “But yeah, none of those injuries are long-term … Nothing major, which is good.”
For Missouri, EDGE rushers Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith were both listed as questionable. Both are dealing with lower-body injuries suffered over the past few weeks.
Furthermore, consensus 2025 All-American running back Ahmad Hardy was listed as out for the fifth consecutive game. Hardy has not returned to practice since he was shot in the leg in May 2026.
Further updates regarding these injuries are expected throughout the remainder of the week.
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Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
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Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn’t working, he’s usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
