LSU has seen some notable success with transfer portal — names like Joe Burrow immediately come to mind.
One of the most recent ways the Tigers hit it big with a transfer was by adding former NDSU linebacker Jabril Cox ahead of the 2020 season.
Cox was a force on defense in what was statement season for him in his career last year, totaling 58 tackles (37 solo), one sack, one fumble recovery, three interceptions, one touchdown and five passes defensed.
Cox told me at the Reese’s Senior Bowl that he believes having a chance to play in the SEC helped him to put forth an effort to further impress scouts.
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“The SEC — the conference overall — it’s the closest thing to the NFL,” he said. “Competing and doing well within it can definitely help your draft stock. I wanted to show scouts that I could compete at a high level.”
Cox was pleased with his performance in Mobile, where he turned heads. One of his most impressive plays was an interception off of former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
“I think that I’ve done very well. I’ve been trying to really get out here and compete, especially in one-on-ones and team periods,” he said during the week. “It’s about winning my battles, and I think I’ve won more than I’ve lost. I’ve become a better football player.”
Cox didn’t see nearly as much action — nor did he see the same type of action on the field — when he was at NDSU before heading to Baton Rouge.
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He says he feels a lot of talent goes undiscovered within the FCS itself, and that a lot of the players within it could excel in the Power Five if given the opportunity.
“There are a lot hidden gems in the FCS, as you’ve seen with myself,” he said. “But a lot of the guys in the FCS, I know they can play in the Power-5 easy, but they were just underrecruited out of high school, and the development they have in a program within the FCS lets them shine but they fly under the radar.”
Cox joined LSU in a down year, when the team had to fight through COVID issues and significant turnover within both the roster and the coaching staff.
LSU entered the season with a new defensive coordinator in Bo Pelini, and the defense struggled greatly up to the tail-end.
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Cox says he doesn’t think the unit’s issues came down to the type of scheme it was or its level of difficulty.
We kind of got a late start on the whole scheme that Bo Pelini was trying to run,” he said. “But I didn’t think it was hard at all.”
Cox sees the team’s late improvement on defense as simply a product of repetition, and that things will improve for LSU in the near future.
“We were a young team, young squad,” he said. “A lot of the young guys got more reps throughout the season and toward the end of the season. You could see the results of that. Getting more playing time for the younger guys is something that’s needed.”
It’s reasonable to project Cox as a Day 2 pick at this point, and it will be interesting to see which team he ultimately lands with when April comes around.
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