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Brenton Cox Dismissed from Gator Football Program

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator

Brenton Cox dismissed from the program for undisclosed reasons. He leaves as the leader in QB pressures with 20. He is #5 on the team with 35 tackles, #3 in sacks. He has ranked as high as #4 in the SEC in tackles for loss (2020) and #8 in sacks (2021). He still could get a look from NFL scouts due to his size (6'4", 250) and versatility as defensive end in a 4-3 or an outside/JACK linebacker in a 3-4. He is projected as high as a 3rd round pick, but will likely go undrafted.

YearSchoolClassPosGSoloAstTotLossSkIntYdsTDPDFRYdsTDFF
2018GeorgiaFRLB11713202.01.000030000
2020FloridaSOLB1221214210.03.500021000
2021FloridaJRLB1326154114.58.000040001
2022FloridaSRLB81520358.02.00001000
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Somewhat of a shocker so far, devoid of explanation...I will respect the position of our Coach and the way staff and players have closed ranks around "not airing our dirty laundry in public"'--but from what I HAVE "heard", there ARE reasons, GOOD ones in light of the questions of solidarity, full and committed effort, honor and loyalty that have surfaced around the lockeroom and as a result of what we've all seen in-game out on the FIELD!
I believe some of the details will surface eventually, but in the meantime suffice it to say that Brenton Cox, a Mullen portal-grab out of Georgia is a good example of how a "5-Star Rating" does NOT guarantee top-rate play by any means...and even "GOOD play" can be offset by problems of "ill fit" among prospective team members brought in with regard ONLY for their previous prep-level performance.
Cox was one of our better performers, as an individual, on Defense. A BAD Defense--and NOT erase of coaching, that I can see so far, but a combination of poor play, poor discipline, and the dreaded "ill-fitting PARTS"! What a mess.
This is DEFINITELY one of those "addition by subtraction", "take it apart before reassembling" situations.
We"ll have to wait until NEXT season to assess the defensive coaching in this team and program.
 

Escambia94

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)
Moderator
Here are some NFL scouting reports on Brenton Cox as an EDGE rusher:
Past the numbers, Cox has all of the football skills necessary to succeed in the NFL. He is a bit of a tweener: the former Gator is listed at 6-foot-3, 252 pounds, so his best fit might be as a 3-4 outside linebacker. But wherever he plays, Cox exhibits impressive play recognition skills and rarely gets caught out of position. He boasts an impressive repertoire of pass-rush moves and explodes off the ball. He has not played as well this season as he did last year, but he has shown enough over the course of his collegiate career to demonstrate that he is well-equipped to make an impact at the next level...The 2023 NFL Draft class is historically good at EDGE. Thus, players like Cox (and, unfortunately, Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith, who is done for the season with a torn pectoral muscle) have little to no margin for error. The first round could see something like seven EDGE rushers get picked, including Alabama's Will Anderson Jr., Clemson's Myles Murphy, Georgia's Nolan Smith, Notre Dame's Isaiah Foskey, Army's Andre Carter II, Kansas State's Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and LSU's B.J. Ojulari. From there, players like Ohio State's Zach Harrison, Florida State's Jared Verse, Iowa State's Will McDonald IV, Clemson's K.J. Henry, Michigan's Mike Morris, LSU's Ali Gaye, Auburn's Derick Hall, Pittsburgh's Habakkuk Baldonado, and others look like potential Day Two selections...Cox's odds of getting selected on Day One of the 2023 NFL Draft were not terribly high to begin with, but his odds of hearing his name called on Day Two took a significant hit this week. Cox should still get drafted—he's too talented not to. The question is where, and his recent dismissal from the Gators could knock him back to somewhere in the middle-to-late rounds.

Here is a scouting report on Cox as an outside linebacker:
The first thing to note on Cox’s scouting report is his versatility. He can play the defensive end position in a 4-3 formation or 3-4 OLB. He has played with his hand in the ground and standing up during his short college football career. At 6’4″ and 250 pounds, he is a little in-between the ideal size for both positions. However, Cox has demonstrated the ability to drop back into coverage that will be required at the next level. As a result, he best projects to play OLB in the NFL.
Here is report on his overall athleticism:
Rushing from a two-point stance, Cox has great length and uses it to his advantage, bull-rushing tackles and enforcing his will on shorter opponents. Below average burst prevents him from being a speed threat and a lack of hand violence causes him to get latched on to as he can not break the contact point. Cox projects as a rotational 3-4 outside linebacker who can win with his power and length in the run and pass game. Athletic limitations mean that he will likely never be a full-time starter.
Before his dismissal he was on the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl watchlists. It is doubtful he will be invited to one of those bowl games, and it is unlikely he gets invited to Florida pro day. He has been kicked out of two football programs, so it is hard to believe an NFL team would be willing to take a chance on him without running him through Senior Bowl interviews and spending some one-on-one time in a pro day. If he could have held out until the end of the season he could have been a late draft pick. I project Cox going undrafted in the NFL, which leaves the XFL and USFL as possibilties unless he wants to return home to Georgia unemployed.
 

DRU2012

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Here are some NFL scouting reports on Brenton Cox as an EDGE rusher:


Here is a scouting report on Cox as an outside linebacker:

Here is report on his overall athleticism:

Before his dismissal he was on the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl watchlists. It is doubtful he will be invited to one of those bowl games, and it is unlikely he gets invited to Florida pro day. He has been kicked out of two football programs, so it is hard to believe an NFL team would be willing to take a chance on him without running him through Senior Bowl interviews and spending some one-on-one time in a pro day. If he could have held out until the end of the season he could have been a late draft pick. I project Cox going undrafted in the NFL, which leaves the XFL and USFL as possibilties unless he wants to return home to Georgia unemployed.
I doubt Billy would have cut him loose in this way, for all the reasons you mention and more, unless something pretty "unavoidably major" ultimately precipitated that move. I know a little about this (must and will keep it to myself until the insider/participants themselves still with the program choose to discuss some of it openly, as I believe they will at some point), but for the moment it is probably best to simply move on.
Suffice to say, you cannot let things fester in place, slowly loisoning the whole team--otherwise you end up 5 years down the line with extensive complications, like Jimbo's mess at aTm by NOW:
HE had to suspend a BUNCH of those 5-Star prizes that not so long ago were so much a part of his "Number One Ranked Class".
Napier didn't go off half-cocked. He came in, gave everyone a chance, found out what he had here, good and bad, in DETAIL before really beginning to make the moves we are now really starting to witness.
What's important now is the progress he sees, what we ALL see, the rest of the way now.
 

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