Georgia Football: Brenton Cox to the Gators, a huge gamble

Less than five days after leaving the Georgia football program, Brenton Cox decided to transfer to the Florida Gators in a move that is much riskier than many in the media seem to realize.

Before I write anything, I want to be very clear. I wish Brenton Cox nothing but the best for his future career. Much like Justin Fields and Luke Ford, Cox was a huge part of the 2018 Georgia football recruiting class, and I hope that despite leaving Georgia, he still has a great career going forward.

That being said, when I saw today that Cox had decided to transfer to Florida, I genuinely felt that he’d made a terrible mistake.

Part of that is because as a Georgia fan, I don’t want to hate Cox and that’s going to be hard after this heel turn. The rest of me, however, genuinely believes that Gainsville is not the right place for Cox to be.

Nothing that Dan Mullen and his coaching staff have done in the past 18 months makes me feel like they’re the people that can help a talented but flawed person become the man and player of his potential.

Let’s start with Cox who at times in his freshman season flashed the potential that made him a top 25 player in his class.

As talented as he is, one of the things that you hear from lots of people who have been around Cox is that he’s pretty freaking angry. That can be a fantastic tool on the field, and it helps him play with an impressive motor at times.

Off the field, however, it’s an attitude that has got him in trouble numerous times during his time in Athens.

Let’s ignore the April arrest out of the equation here. Cox did not leave the team because of that incident.

Kirby Smart has shown time and again over the last few years that he will help his players overcome those sorts of challenges. What he won’t do is put up with players who continually break his team rules and disrespect their teammates.

I don’t know what Cox did or how often he did it, but it’s pretty well known that his departure from Georgia was not because of one incident.

It was a buildup of consistent mistakes that ultimately led to both parties deciding that this was not going to work.

I’m not saying that Cox is a bad guy by any means, but it’s clear to anyone that he’s had some discipline issues. Those are by no means terminal at this stage of his career.

He’s a young man who is still growing in all sorts of ways, and I’m sure that as he matures, he’ll make better decisions. Going to Gainsville however, reeks of the same angry attitude that got him into trouble in Athens in the first place.

Rather than think about the best situation for his growth, he’s going to his first school’s arch-rivals with the hope of showing them up. He’s doing this even though Florida might be one of the worst places for him to possibly be when you consider his issues in Athens.

I’ve banged on about how bad the Gator’s culture is for the past couple of years, but I’m not just saying that because I’m a Georgia fan.

Jim McElwain let the players run wild in his last year, and Dan Mullen has done nothing to correct that issue.

Mullen has not only allowed a stupid amount of trash talk to occur under his watch; but he’s also turned a blind eye to actual crimes committed by his players.

If you don’t think that Dan Mullen has an issue imposing discipline on players, look no further than the fact that he’s had five players accused of domestic violence since he arrived.

Yes, I know that accusations aren’t the same as convictions, but seriously, five separate incidents in 18 months. That’s insane.

Georgia has had one, and despite JJ Holloman being the teams best receiver, he was out of Athens in an instant. The latest incident involved John Huggins and to be frank, it’s terrible. Huggins choked his tutors because she took his phone away during a study session.

Mullen has protected Huggins just like he has done to several others who have domestic violence aqusations.

Huggins is the third player credibly accused of getting physical with a woman that is still on the Gator’s roster. Can we take a deep breath and think about that. How, in today’s society has this been allowed to happen?

I’m all for second chances, but to essentially say that there are no consequences for this sort of behavior is disgraceful. It’s no accident, either. Mullen has decided that he’s happy to let these sort of incidents go.

This is the program and the culture that Cox has chosen to jump into. One where so long as you produce on the field or have a reputation, the coaches will protect you.

As the only former 5-star recruit on the roster, Cox instantly becomes the most heralded player on the defense.

That means that he can basically do whatever he wants, and ‘the family’ will protect him. While that might sound good to some, for me, it’s a recipe for disaster.

This is a player who disliked being held accountable in Athens. He’s leaving an environment where being late for meetings and going out late had consequences and going to one where the head coach does not care. How is that going to help him?

Sure Florida offer playing time because Mullen isn’t exactly setting the recruiting world on fire. Yes, he’ll have the chance to ‘get revenge’ against the team he left. But is Florida the school that will help Cox grow as a football player and a man over the coming two years before he inevitably declares for the draft?

Based on their track record, you’d be hard-pressed to say that they are which makes this move a gamble that Cox didn’t need to take. He could have gone to Ohio State and joined his friend Justin Fields, or basically anywhere else. He’s a 5-star talent.

The move isn’t risk-free for the Gators either. They’re betting on Cox’s talent which is legitimate, but his issues do need handling. Sweeping them under the rug is not going to help anyone, and if Cox gets arrested again, the optics will not be good.

Then again, since when does Mullen care about optics, let’s  look at his recent comments regarding the Huggins situation from Matt Barker of the Tampa Bay Times:

"“We do a lot, you know,” Mullen said. “I mean, how many of them are actually charged?”Three were arrested, if you’re keeping track.“Obviously I’m a big anti-violence against women person,” Mullen said. “I’m also a person that I really want to have all of the information as I make decisions and what happens in different situations and that’s one of the toughest deals….“My job as a head coach is not to go in and investigate all that. I hear, here’s one report. Here’s the other report. They don’t match up. And it’s not my job to really make that decision on campus with how that works….“I have to manage the situation, manage my players on those types of things and let the university process play or the legal process play its course.”"

Those quotes are… Sub-optimal and they emphasis the problem. Mullen either doesn’t care about these issues or doesn’t pay attention to them. Neither of which is the sign of a head coach that can help Cox get himself focused and reach his potential.

Maybe I’m wrong, which has happened plenty of times before. Maybe when Cox gets on the field, he’s able to pull it all together and show Kirby Smart and everyone else how wrong they are.

Maybe ‘mutually parting ways’ has changed him and he realized that he needs to concentrate and buy-in and he’ll be a wrecking ball for the Gators.

Right now, this is a huge risk being taken by a player that didn’t need to take one. I hope for his sake that it works out, but with Dan Mullen at the helm, I wouldn’t bet on it.