Florida football: Brenton Cox comes along at the right time

The Florida football defense was solid last season. With the loss of some top talent to the NFL, the Gators will need some veteran help to replace that talent.

There’s a lot of defensive talent Florida football will have to replace this coming season, but there is one who already has the makings for good things.

The Gators will get that from the standout and former five-star Brenton Cox.

Cox who transferred after the 2018-19 season from Georgia was not eligible to play last season as the NCAA denied his request for a transfer waiver. After not playing in a game for over a year he is poised to come in and make some noise.

Florida defensive line, then and now

Last season one of the true bright spots had to be the Florida football defense. There were plenty of stars that shined throughout the year.

As a team, the defense held the opponents to low 36 percent on third-down conversions. That can make life so hard on the opposing defense. Once they think they have time for a break, boom right back on the field. With a dominating 49 sacks on the season, the defense put pressure on an offense game in game out.

The defense was led by Johnathan Greenard with 10 sacks on the year. Losing those sacks to the NFL this year it will be the job of Todd Grantham to find those sacks elsewhere.

Now, Greenard was great but there are still a few guys left on that line that know the ropes, been there done that, and will do it again.  Zachary Carter, Chris Bogle, Jeremiah Moon, and Mohamoud Diabate all will be playing on that line and all will want all the snaps they can get.

Not to mention the young guys that will be joining that from this year. Lamar Goods, Gervon Dexter, and Johnny Brown are a few that want to come in and make a name for themselves. And that is just the defensive front! Think about all those DB’s and that NFL safety we have.

Brenton Cox

But one guy has come into the forefront at just the right time. When Cox transferred to UF he envisioned he would come in and compete right away.

The NCAA had a different scenario, sit out a year. We can get into the whole transfer program the NCAA runs but that would be a series or a book.

What is important is he got to practice with the team all last season. There are several accounts of him causing all types of problems for the first-team offense in practice.

He is a special talent that earned every one of those five-stars he was given come out of high school. Mullen when speaking about Cox recently stated;

"“We expect him to have a great spring. He’s worked hard, had a great attitude, been really positive in everything he’s done and I want to see him continue to do that moving forward.”“I know he’s a talented player. It’s good to have him.”"

That kind of athleticism with that kind of size is scary. He fits the mold of the Florida football defense perfect and I expect him to make his name as a leader one day.

Getting to play in a few games, and a bowl game, while with Georgia and spending the whole year with the Gators last season will only make him a force to be dealt with on that defense.

He comes along at a time when the defense will be going from the old guard within a year to a whole new group of men up-front. A time when he will be needed to get sacks and make big plays game after game. And I and many others believe he is up for the challenge.

Once again the Florida football defense will be one of the best in the country and will play a key role on the road to a national championship.