Florida veteran linebacker Brenton Cox Jr., one of the top players on a struggling defense, has dismissed from the team, Gators coach Billy Napier said Monday.
The decision, first reported by GatorsOnline’s Zach Abolverdi, came two days after the Gators’ 42-20 loss to Georgia, Cox’s former team.
“We’ve kind of decided to move on,” Napier said. “Being a football player at the University of Florida is a privilege. There’s certain expectations and standards that come with that. Sometimes you have to make decisions in the best interests of the team.”
Cox leads Florida with 8 tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, along with 9 quarterback hurries and is among the most productive players for one of the SEC’s worst defenses.
The 6-foot-3, 252-pound edge rusher also predicted much bigger things in 2022, expected to be his final season before leaving for the NFL. Cox hoped to shatter Alex Brown’s sacks record (13, 1999) and average a sack per half.
Cox and the Gators’ ‘D’ have not lived up to expectation during their first season with a new staff.
Florida ranks last in the 14-team SEC in third-down defense and allowing plays 10 yards or longer. The Gators are 12th in total defense and against the run, and 11th in scoring defense and against the pass.
Napier declined to share specifics on Cox’s dismissal from the Gators.
“It’s more of a cumulative effect,” Napier said. “We keep that in house.”
Veteran cornerback Jaydon Hill, one of Cox’s longtime teammates, said players took notice.
“It definitely sends a strong message throughout the locker room,” Hill said. “That’s my guy. I’m still rooting for B to this day.
“It kind of caught me off guard a little bit.”
Napier said he will help Cox, a likely NFL draft pick, further his career. The 43-year-old coach, though, felt it was best for his program to cut ties.
“These are hard things,” Napier said. “We want to do what we can do to help Brenton going forward, but I think it’s a healthy thing for our team.”
A native of Stockbridge, Georgia, Cox was a 5-star recruit in Georgia’s 2018 class, but transferred to Florida in August 2019.
“It just didn’t work out,” Cox said last week. “Me and coach Smart, we agreed (on the) mutual decision for me to leave and I came here. That’s been the best decision I made so far.”
After sitting out the 2019 season due to transfer rules at the time, Cox totaled 100 tackles, including 28.5 for loss (12.5 sacks) and 5 defended passes in 29 games, all of them starts.
Zipperer’s season over
Starting tight end Keon Zipperer, Florida’s fourth-leading receiver, will miss the rest of the season with an injury, the junior from Lakeland announced on his Facebook page.
“Due to an injury I will not play for the remainder of the season; never ask why just trust the process. See y’all next year. Thank you God,” Zipperer wrote.
Zipperer has 13 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown in eight games, including seven starts.
Zipperer finished with a career-high 62 receiving yards on 3 receptions at Tennessee, including a 44-yard catch-and-run during which he ran over more than one Vols’ tackler en route to the end zone.
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