Oregon State Offensive Lineman Keyon Cox Will Use Transfer Portal
![Thompson linebacker Jeremiah Alexander (7) rushes the passer and is blocked by Central offensive lineman Keyon Cox (59) during the 7A state championship game in Birmingham Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr]
7a Championship Central Vs Thompson](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_136,w_3407,h_1916/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/oregon-state-beavers-on-si/01kdbbnm1qk09k8a6d4n.jpg "Thompson linebacker Jeremiah Alexander (7) rushes the passer and is blocked by Central offensive lineman Keyon Cox (59) during the 7A state championship game in Birmingham Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr]
7a Championship Central Vs Thompson")
Living out an artist's dream, Oregon State’s new offensive line coach Kirk Barron is about to work with a clean slate.
On Christmas Eve, another Oregon State offensive lineman signaled their intentions to use the transfer portal: Keyon Cox. He joins recent offensive line transfer departures Dylan Sikorski and Ryan Berger.
Cox, a 6’5” redshirt sophomore from the Columbus Georgia suburbs (Phenix City, AL) arrived in Corvallis through the transfer portal last December. When the season kicked off, Cox was a backup left guard on the Beavs’ first official two-deep depth chart. After Jacob Strand’s knee injury in the second half of the opener, Josiah Timoteo took the starting left tackle spot. Then in October, Oregon State fired head coach Trent Bray. When interim coach Robb Akey took over, he asked his assistants to get creative; soon, offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh experimented with Timoteo playing right tackle and Cox protecting the blind side.
Beginning with Akey’s first game on October 18th against Lafayette, Cox appeared in four games this season: the aforementioned Lafayette win, plus the Beavers' final three losses against Sam Houston, Tulsa, and Washington State. At Tulsa on November 15th, Cox's first (and only) start was memorable for the wrong reasons. Starting passer Gabarri Johnson took two sacks, and aggravated a foot injury suffered two weeks earlier. In Johnson’s stead, Oregon State trotted out season opening starting quarterback Maalik Murphy, who managed only 5 of 11 passes under ferocious pressure. In the fourth quarter, third-stringer Tristan Ti’a threw two touchdowns, but also took a sack.
Before coming to Oregon State, Cox played at UCF for two seasons, and he appeared in three games with no starts. During his prep days, Cox played for Auburn alum Patrick Nix’s Central HS Red Devils, one of the top high school programs in the state of Alabama.
Cox and all other Division I football players are free to enter the transfer portal from January 2nd through January 16th 2026.
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.