Brenton Cox Jr. Aiming to Prove Himself With Florida Gators in 2022
Photo: Mike Peterson (left) and Brenton Cox Jr. (right); Credit: Zach Goodall
Brenton Cox Jr. had a chance to be selected in the third-to-fourth round of the upcoming NFL Draft following an injury-plagued-yet-productive 8.5-sack, 14.5-tackle-for-loss 2021 campaign, according to the league's college advisory committee.
Instead, Cox opted against pursuing his pro football dreams — aspirations that he's made widely known in the past — to return to the Florida Gators for a fourth year and his fifth season of college football in 2022.
The former Georgia transfer returns with lofty expectations for his game, understanding that he did not play at full strength in 2021 while continuing to recover from an offseason surgery for a Jones fracture in his foot.
"I just felt like I had more to do. Last year was tough for me because of my foot, so I just felt that I have more in the tank, more to prove," Cox told reporters on Tuesday. "Going to try to beat [Florida's] sack record this year, 13.
"I feel like I've got more to prove and more to show people, because I can do more than just come off the ball hard. I can give you a move after that, too. I'm just here to show it all."
Cox believes his foot was never 100 percent healed last season although he tried to play as if it was, and at points that was evident. Cox was unstoppable in the final two games of the year, posting a school-record four sacks against Florida State and four tackles for loss against UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, but also had six games in which he didn't record a state in either category.
As an edge rusher especially, it isn't easy to play through a foot injury that required surgery. One of Cox's biggest strengths when rushing the passer is his first-step explosion, but he couldn't generate his typical speed due to the nature of his wound.
The 6-foot-4, 253-pound edge rusher also admitted to taking some plays off throughout the campaign, vowing to eliminate "loafing" from his game while continuing to improve his skill-set under the guidance of new Gators' outside linebackers coach and former UF All-American defender Mike Peterson.
"It's been a discussion that I don't play hard, so [Peterson has] been preaching to me that if you're not at the TV box by the time the play is over then it's a loaf, you're not running to the ball," Cox explained. "That's helped me turn the other way and get going when I'm done with my rush.
"I can't make all the plays, but the ones that I could have gone harder on I took off. I can honestly say I took off a couple plays but I'm here to make it up."
Feeling "much better" after a few months of allowing his foot to heal this offseason, Cox is looking to take his game to the next level in 2022 with the guidance of Peterson and Florida's new coaching staff.
Cox is encouraged by working with Peterson specifically, being an admirer of Peterson's accomplishments both at Florida and in the pros before he joined the coaching ranks. Peterson was an All-Pro with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005 and posted over 1,200 tackles during his NFL career.
"You know, dealing with a Gator great it's kind of hard to compete with stats like that," Cox said. "But at the end of the day he's telling me to go hard. He's correcting when I'm wrong, telling me what I'm doing good, so that's all I can ask for.
"I definitely did my research. I couldn't talk about anybody else, but I knew what I was getting when he came here. I was happy to have him."
Peterson has stressed three-dimensional edge rushing to Cox — becoming a complete player at the position requires being able to set the edge against the run and drop into coverage in addition to putting pressure on quarterbacks.
So far, Peterson has come away impressed with Cox and his effort in spring practice as he aspires to earn the three-dimensional label, improve his draft stock for next offseason and bolster his legacy at UF.
"Brenton, he was one of the first ones that came up to the meeting room. We sat and we talked for a while. I wanted him to get to know me, and I wanted to get him to know him as well," Peterson said. "I've been watching him for a while. I actually recruited him when he was coming out. So I was familiar with him. I'm excited to get out there on the field and let him do his thing.”
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