Florida Gators X-Factor vs. Georgia: Brenton Cox Jr.

How can a Florida/Georgia veteran like Brenton Cox Jr. lead the Gators’ defense against the Bulldogs?

Photo: Brenton Cox Jr.; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

Florida edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. was asked on Wednesday if the Gators have any confidence remaining from their 2021 matchup against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, which featured a 3-0 game late in the first half.

The former Bulldog certainly does.

"Yeah, I do. We pretty much have the same team as well,” Cox explained. “A lot of those guys played last year, so we know what to expect and know how we got to take it to them. We can't take the first punch. We got to dish it out. That's the type of mindset we're going into this game."

During his two-plus-year playing career with UF after transferring from UGA in 2019 and redshirting the season, Cox is 1-1 on the field against his former Georgia squad. In a game where the Bulldogs are more than three touchdown favorites, Cox’s presence is one of few that could give the Gators a chance to make it closer than most predict.

He can dish out the first punch.

Players like Cox will be the X-factor in deciding the Gators’ fate against the top-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday. Cox enters this week's matchup with the most quarterback pressures on the team with 19 in total (two sacks, four quarterback hits and 13 quarterback hurries). 

Cox is also freshly removed from his best two performances of his season thus far. He racked up six total quarterback pressures (one sack, one quarterback hit and four quarterback hurries) against LSU and has compiled two sacks and four tackles for loss in UF’s last two contests. 

The Gators’ defense will need Cox to step up in a big way for the third game in a row to have any shot at taking down the Bulldogs’ offense.

In his previous two matchups against the Bulldogs, Cox has accumulated four total pressures, all four being quarterback hurries. Getting hurries, and specifically turning them into sacks, on Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will be a critical factor in helping slow down the Bulldogs’ offense. 

With the Florida secondary posting its collective worst game of the season against LSU, generating a healthy pass rush will be crucial to easing some pressure off of the defensive backs and ideally limiting the big plays that have plagued the defense this season. 

Georgia, specifically tight end Brock Bowers, has proven more then capable of generating those big plays. That’s why Cox and Florida’s pass rush must prevent them from happening in the first place with a consistently strong rush against Bennett.

Cox added this when asked about single missed assignments leading to big gains against the Gators’ defense this year.

“It's been very difficult as a program. We work hard, and we try to pay attention to detail the best we can. So when one guy is not in the right spot, or two guys are not in the right spot, it's kind of the downfall to the defense because, like I said, we work so hard,” Cox explained. “If we can just get better, that's all we can do is get better week in and week out."

After a bye week of figuring out issues, improving communication amongst themselves and paying more attention to the details, Cox enters this game with one goal in mind.

‘You come into the game you want to win; that's our goal for the week." 

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