Brenton Cox Jr. is averaging more than seven tackles per game through the season's first three games. (Photo: Craig Haas/UAA Communications)
Gators Q&A: Outside Linebacker Brenton Cox Jr.
Friday, September 23, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Brenton Cox Jr. has been under an Orange & Blue microscope since he joined the Gators in 2019 as a five-star transfer from Georgia.
Cox always passed the eye test, standing 6-foot-3.25 and tipping the scales at 252 pounds before this season. The numbers Cox seeks on the field started to show up late last season. He finished with a team-high 8.5 sacks, including a career-high four in the win over Florida State, one shy of the school record set by Alex Brown in a win over Tennessee in 1999. Brenton Cox Jr.
He spent the offseason training to get leaner and quicker.
Cox opened his fourth season at Florida with a career-high 10 tackles in the victory over Utah. Through three games, the redshirt-junior outside linebacker has 22 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
The No. 20-ranked Gators visit No. 11-ranked Tennessee on Saturday, a matchup that is being billed as Tennessee's best chance to defeat the Gators in several years. Florida has won 16 of 17 meetings since 2005.
Cox knows that the Volunteers' up-tempo offense, led by quarterback Hendon Hooker, presents a unique challenge. Preventing Hooker from dominating the pace is a primary goal for Florida's defense.
"It's always a goal to affect the quarterback,'' Cox said. "Tennessee's real big on running tempo, so just getting back to the ball, getting lined up, keep getting after it, reacting and running to the ball. That's going to be real big for us to be successful."
Here is a Q&A with Cox as the Gators prepare to head to Rocky Top:
BRENTON COX JR. Q&A
Q:How would you assess your season thus far? A: I'm nowhere [near] where I want to be. I'm just out here trying to hustle, do whatever it takes for the team to win. So far, I got a lot of tackles. No sacks, but I'm still working. Everybody on the team is working. We've got a common goal that we want at the end of the year, so we're just trying to come to work every day, do what we can and be successful.
Q:What impact does Ventrell Miller's absence have on the defense when he can't play? A: It's pretty big, you know. A guy like that, a lot of people say the heart and soul of the defense, and that's kind of true. When you have that big factor in the middle of the defense that controls everything, kind of like the quarterback of the defense. But we got a lot of guys that can step up and fill that role, so I'm pretty confident in those guys.
Q:What's the approach to slowing down a quarterback like Hooker? A:Just going in and running to everything. Everything we're doing has to be a sprint, literally everything. Even getting to the ball has to be a sprint. And it always takes time just to get used to the tempo because other teams don't do that. But Coach Toney has been doing real good simulating how it's going to be on Saturday. I think we'll be well prepared.
Q:How does defensive depth factor in against a fast-paced offense? A: That's the thing; it's not really a rotation when you're going that fast. So whoever's out there, it's kind of like 5-on-5 basketball. You're playing their 11 against our 11. So, there's kind of going to be dead-ball situations where you can sub, but we'll be alright. Everybody on the team is well-conditioned, so we should be good.
Brenton Cox Jr. leaps toward Kentucky quarterback Will Levis at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Q:What has linebackers coach Mike Peterson unlocked for you? A: Hustling. Yeah, that's his biggest pet peeve. You gotta hustle. You can't teach that. It's gotta be in you. So him just teaching me the right way to do things on and off the field has been a great help for me.
Q:What's the Tennessee rivalry mean to you? A: It means a lot because I'm from Georgia, so it's in the middle of Florida and Tennessee. So there's a lot of fans that go both ways. This game pretty much settles all the back and forth between my family that they do with me. A lot of them are from Tennessee and a lot of them are from Florida or they're near the border. This will be a good game.
Q:How critical of a game is this for you guys? A: It's an East opponent, right, Tennessee is in the East? All East games are worth double around here. Yeah, we fell short one game so this game is like, honestly, it's like a championship game for us so we got to take it seriously.
Q:Do you recall any game you have played when the pace was similar to what you expect at Tennessee? A: I would say 2020 Ole Miss, that game was pretty fast. I don't think nobody goes faster than them. That was the worst game I've played as far as tempo. That was the biggest game we had and that was my opener, so I don't know if it was as bad as it felt because it was our opener, but that's the last game I remember going that fast tempo.
Q:How much motivation do you get from being underrated by some NFL scouting personnel? A: Yeah, most definitely it motivated me to come out and work extra hard. Going from being the top-rated guy to being overlooked, you know, that could be a humbling experience, but it just keeps me going every day. I may have [voiced my frustration] when I was a little emotional, but at the end of the day, you know, it's, 'if they good, they'll see you; if you good, they'll see you.' That's how I look at it. I try to just take it one day at a time; leave out everything and just keep working.
Q:Story behind the neck roll you wear on game day? A: You don't really need it but you need it. It's kinda for injury and for looks. With the injury, not too much. So I would say more of a look right now.
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