Florida dismisses starting EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.
Florida JACK linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. has been dismissed from the team.
Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online was first with the report, and head coach Billy Napier confirmed the news during his weekly press conference.
“Brenton, we’ve kind of decided to move on here. I think that being a football player at the University of Florida is a privilege. There are certain expectations and standards that come with that. Brenton’s now been here in his third year. Obviously, he’s done a lot of good things for the University of Florida and we wish him the best.
“Sometimes, you have to make decisions in the best interest of the team. Certainly, Brenton, we’re going to do everything we can do to help him with his transition. But it’s as simple as that, I think that we’ve decided to move on.”
Napier was asked if Cox threw a punch at the end of the Georgia game, but the head coach said he was unaware of such events. He declined to go into specifics, calling the decision a “cumulative effect.”
As far as replacing Cox in the starting 11, Florida’s already mildly prepared for the loss. Lloyd Summerall III and Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. have seen plenty of time on the field, and Napier expects to lean on those two heavily for the rest of the season.
“We’ve been playing a handful of players in that position the entire year. So, AP and Lloyd and those guys will do a really good job. They’ve been playing in each and every game for the most part. I know Lloyd was out this past week, but we’ll just continue in that direction.”
Napier declined to answer most follow-ups regarding the topic, citing his earlier decision to keep that kind of information “in-house.”
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