Consistency Is Key for Gators Pass-Rusher Brenton Cox Jr. Says Mullen

The Florida Gators made shockwaves around the college football world when it grabbed former five-star player, and former Georgia Bulldog Brenton Cox Jr. via the transfer portal in 2019.

After sitting out a year, Cox was finally able to suit up for the team in 2020, but he still has a ways to go to live up to the lofty expectations most fans and observers have for him.

Last season, Cox was able to play in 12 games for Florida, tallying 42 tackles (21 solos), 10 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. He flashed brilliance as an edge for the Florida defense and was easily the team's best pass rusher among the entire unit. What he did lack, however, was consistency and that's what Florida head coach Dan Mullen hopes to see improve out of the veteran defender.

“There’s still things he’s working on. We talk about it. Even in this last scrimmage you’re looking at a guy who’s an older, veteran guy that makes huge production, but there’s still some critical errors in there," Mullen said on Monday when asked about Cox.

Mullen mentioned that while Cox makes some great plays, what cannot happen is making terrible plays scattered in between. Consistency issues are something that is seen with the large majority of collegiate athletes that are continuing to develop.

"I’ve got to be a consistent performer, with great plays. It’s not so much raising his top-end bar, it’s raising the bottom up within his performance. I think that’s one of the things we’re constantly talking on, you don’t have to make more plays. What you have to do is be more consistent on the bottom of end of stuff.”

Raising the bar from the bottom makes sense. One of the many ways to describe football players is by talking about their "ceilings" or what you can expect at the peak of their game. Players with high ceilings and low floors are thought to be risky in terms of deploying or giving the car keys to them. With Cox, the jury is still out on whether or not he's going to be just that player.

Make no mistake, the starting BUCK for the Gators moving forward into the 2021 season is going to be Brenton Cox, but the expectations surrounding him aren't going to budge either. While he did play admirably last season, especially at his highs, the expectation is for him to become the team's leader on defense, no longer a question whether or not he will make a play when it matters.

The Gators' defense will look a lot different this season. The team is losing a few of its starters, replacing them with younger, inexperienced players or graduate transfers who have shown promise in the past. What they will need is a consistent weapon, someone who can lead by example and Cox is expected to be just that.