Florida Football: Brenton Cox transfer adds fuel to Georgia rivalry

Days after leaving Georgia, sophomore linebacker Brenton Cox has elected to transfer to SEC East foe Florida football.

On Monday, Brenton Cox entered the transfer portal after being “dismissed” from the Georgia football team. Within four days, he’s already found his new home in Gainesville.

Cox is required to sit out the 2019 season, but as a player with three years of eligibility remaining, he still has ample opportunity to play.

He was a five-star prospect in Kirby Smart’s 2018 class. In his freshman year, he registered 20 tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss. The production wasn’t elite, but as a freshman in an absolutely loaded defense, he didn’t get a huge workload.

Cox was, along with Georgia teammate Robert Beal, charged with possession of marijuana after cannabis was found in their dorm room. It is, however, unclear if that incident had any connection to his dismissal.

The news on Friday caused surprise, not because Cox transferred, but because of where he transferred to. A player being kicked off a team and immediately going to the arch-rival has its connotations, especially in a rivalry that has been escalating in recent years.

Georgia has established themselves as a powerhouse. They have taken hold of a top three position, and they own the SEC East. However, Florida has emerged under Dan Mullen, and like the successful Gator regimes of the past, controversy exists in spades.

Mullen hasn’t necessarily pushed back against the controversy. On multiple occasions, he has taken jabs at Smart in the media. The common thread through all of these jabs, of course, is that Mullen has always instigated.

If you connect the dots, it’s almost certain that Mullen sees the addition of Brenton Cox as a win. After regularly taking shots at Smart, adding one of Georgia’s five-star players is just another shot across the bow in this rivalry.

Cox will likely produce on the field, but this move means more than just Florida adding a really good linebacker. This is the latest chapter in what will become one of the better, more entertaining and passionate periods in the history of the Florida-Georgia rivalry. Fortunately, we’re just getting started.