It’s been quite the tumultuous college career for Florida outside linebacker/edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr., and that career took its strangest twist yet with the Gators suddenly releasing him Monday. Cox was ranked as a five-star rusher by Rivals (second at that position, fifth in his state, and 33rd overall), ESPN and 247 coming out of Stockbridge High School in Georgia in 2018, and his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs made a lot of headlines. But Cox suddenly left Georgia in August 2019 and transferred to Florida, sitting out the 2019 season due to transfer rules and then playing for the Gators since 2020. On Monday, the world started talking about his release, with Florida head coach Billy Napier saying it was “a healthy thing for our team”:
BREAKING: Brenton Cox Jr. has been dismissed from the #Gators. https://t.co/heoYZm1lEq | @GatorsOnline pic.twitter.com/XufsKCoGjY
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) October 31, 2022
Napier says they have decided to move on from Brenton Cox. He says being a football player at Florida is a privilege. Napier says you have to make decision in the best interest in the team.
— Andrew Spivey (@AndrewSpiveyGC) October 31, 2022
Napier says dismissing Brenton Cox was a "healthy thing for our team."
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) October 31, 2022
Cox’s 2019 departure from Georgia comes with its own questions. He was expected to be a veteran contributor for the Bulldogs heading into that August, but then suddenly wasn’t part of the team, with some reports indicating head coach Kirby Smart dismissed him (and citing a potential suspension over a misdemeanor marijuana possession citation from April 2019). For his part, though, Cox has just said he wanted to transfer, and Smart had nothing but positive things to say about him last week.
Cox had been a key contributor for Florida, starting for the Gators in every game of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, as well as in the 2022 season to date. In 2020, he notched 24 tackles (12 solo), six tackles for loss, and two sacks across eight games. In 2021, he recorded 41 tackles (21 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and a team-high 18 quarterback pressures across 13 games, and was named to the AP All-SEC second team. This year, he’s put up 35 tackles (15 solo), eight tackles for loss, and two sacks in eight games. And the Gators’ own website wrote a big feature on him and his experiences on both sides of the annual Florida-Georgia game ahead of that game Saturday (which Cox is seen above ahead of; Florida lost that game 42-20). Some highlights from that:
The veteran has a message to the younger players on the UF defense, with the Bulldogs looming.
“I just tell them to keep their poise,” Cox said. “It’s a big game.”
TIAA Bank Field will be flooded with both orange and blue and red and black on Saturday. The Gators will be chomping, and the Dawgs will be barking.
Meanwhile, the Georgia native is fully aware of what to expect from the Georgia side of the stadium.
“A whole fan base knowing me and wishing for our downfall,” Cox said. “All you can do is take that with a grain of salt and keep moving, that’s all. We are the underdogs. Obviously, they’re the No. 1 team for a reason.”
Cox has had public exchanges with Georgia fans in the past, including this year. But it’s not currently clear at all what took him from a valued veteran for Florida to a dismissed player. And it will be interesting to see if this impacts Cox’s chances of playing in the NFL. Some had thought he might head to the pros even after last year, and many draft sites had written him up this year, generally as a prospect with some potential but some limitations (so likely a later-round pick or an undrafted free agent, if taken). His path to a pro career would seem to get even tougher following a surprising release like this.
[Zach Abolverdi on Twitter; photo from Kim Klement/USA Today Sports]
