Florida football: The defense looks fantastic now that Cox is gone
By Will Thomas
![Florida Gators outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) puts on his helmet during warm ups. The Florida Gators scrimmaged in the first quarter during the annual Orange and Blue spring game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL, Thursday afternoon, April 14, 2022. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2022Oca Orangeandbluegame](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fa426cde7109650770235fbb4b886195bedced676b6e935281e0476afa367868e.jpg "Florida Gators outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) puts on his helmet during warm ups. The Florida Gators scrimmaged in the first quarter during the annual Orange and Blue spring game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL, Thursday afternoon, April 14, 2022. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2022Oca Orangeandbluegame")
After 8 weeks of mediocrity and frustration, Florida football has started to turn it around on the defensive side of the ball. Ever since the second half against Texas A&M, they’ve given up zero points over six quarters aside from a fake punt and forced five turnovers.
The defensive front has also been much more disruptive, getting five sacks in the past two games, and holding Texas A&M and USC jr to 178 combined rushing yards.
The biggest difference in the defense over these last two weeks? Brenton Cox isn’t there anymore.
Cox has a highly regarded transfer coming from UGA and earned the #1 jersey before he even played a snap for the Gators. Florida fans ignored all the warnings from UGA fans about Cox being a toxic teammate and an issue in the locker room. We were all just happy to nab a five-star from the Dawgs.
But it quickly became obvious that a change of scenery didn’t help Cox. He had poor body language on the field and didn’t hustle on snaps where he could’ve made a play. He gave Gator fans some hope at the end of last year with a great game against FSU but disappointed to open this season.
To be fair, there wasn’t really one person on the defensive unit that was struggling, it was everybody. The secondary couldn’t cover for long enough, there wasn’t any pressure on opposing QBs, and they just couldn’t get off the field on third downs.
But now, all of a sudden, the defense is playing with more energy. They’re forcing turnovers and laying hits. It’s allowing the offense to settle down and now play catch up. It’s made the Gators a much better football team.
And it’s hard to ignore the fact that this turnaround happened when Cox left the program. Napier said “it was time to move on”, and after these two weeks, I’d say it was the right idea.
Napier has been trying to establish his culture in his first season as the Gator’s head coach, and it seems like he finally pressed the right buttons with his team. Let’s hope UF keeps this momentum going and finished the year strong.
Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.