Here’s why LB Brenton Cox Jr. decided to return to Florida

Brenton Cox Jr. is hoping to a have a season for the record books in his final year as a Gator.

Brenton Cox Jr. could have gone to the NFL after finishing 2021 with 8.5 sacks and a third-round grade as a draft prospect. Instead, he decided to return to the University of Florida for his redshirt senior season under new head coach Billy Napier.

It’s clear that Cox feels he has unfinished business with the Gators, but there’s a bit more to it than just improving on his stats from last season. He has his sights on the sack record (13) at Florida, according to Gators Online.

“I’m going for a sack every half, so if I do that, I’m going to pass those numbers,” Cox said. “But right now, I’m just trying to beat the sack record so just going out there and playing hard every play.”

Racking up 24 sacks would be quite the feat, but 13 doesn’t seem too ridiculous for Cox. The 8.5 that he put up last year came while he was recovering from foot surgery and fairly banged up throughout the year. Now he’s healthy and under the guidance of [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag], who had plenty of sacks during his time in the NFL.

“He has all the skills,” Peterson said. “This guy’s strong, he’s powerful. He can run, he can rush the passer. Right now my thing is to kind of polish his game to help him learn the game.”

Cox has already noticed a difference after working with Peterson for just a few weeks. By the time the season rolls around, [autotag]Alex Brown[/autotag] may want to check the record books one more time just in case Cox lives up to his word.

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