Illinois Football 2025 Scouting Report: Defensive Back Torrie Cox Jr.

Cox, an experienced DB heading into his senior season, appears poised to be an impactful player in Illinois' loaded secondary

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. (5) intercepts a pass to Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Isaiah Neyor (18) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Illinois on SI is delivering scouting reports for each of the key players on the Illini football team's 2025 roster. Below, we present our breakdown of Illini senior defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. We will add more as other on-field contributors emerge during the season. Find our scouting reports of other Illinois players by searching in your favorite browser or clicking in our projected depth chart – coming soon.

Torrie Cox Jr. | Defensive back | Senior | No. 5

Hometown: Miami, Florida

High School: Chaminade-Madonna Prep

Height: 5-foot-9

Weight: 170 pounds

Transfer schools: Ohio

Scouting report

Cox, a redshirt senior who spent his first three seasons at Ohio, suited up in 13 games last season for the Illinois, earning a start in eight of them. He accounted for three interceptions, four pass breakups and 26 tackles.

Although he is undersized at 5-foot-9, Cox makes up for it with his physicality and speed. A Florida native, he comes from a family with a track background (his younger brother Tywan Cox, an Illinois commit, is a renowned sprinter) and has the straight-line speed to ensure that he rarely gets beaten on deep routes.

Experience

In three years at Ohio, Cox redshirted his freshman season before turning in an excellent first campaign, which saw him snag three picks, break up six passes and recover a fumble, while adding 37 tackles.

After a solid sophomore year (32 tackles and a fumble recovery), Cox landed in Champaign, where he started his Illini career with a bang, intercepting a pass in his debut against Eastern Illinois. Cox's three interceptions last year tied for sixth-best in the conference.

Media highlights

TORRIE COX JR.

One of the BEST interceptions you will ever see.

Robbery. pic.twitter.com/oeAdbHTZJB

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) September 21, 2024

What they're saying

“My interception … we were in Cover-2, I saw the screen forming, so I shot the screen. I was expecting to make a big hit, but the quarterback ended up throwing the ball to the outside,” said Cox, offering insight into his thought process en route to an interception against Eastern Illinois last year.

2025 outlook

The Illini bring back nearly their entire defensive back rotation from 2024, including Xavier Scott, Miles Scott, Kaleb Patterson, Matthew Bailey and Cox. Although both of the Scotts (no relation), along with Patterson and Bailey, figure to have a higher priority on the depth chart, Cox appears poised to be next up.

And even if Cox isn’t in the starting lineup, he can be expected to play plenty of snaps situationally, in nickel and dime packages, and rotating in to help keep Illinois' secondary fresh.

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