Dallas Cowboys' Linebacker for the National Football League

Jabril Cox | Biographgy

Cox wanted to play one more year after college graduation, so he transferred as a graduate student to Louisiana State University in 2020

• By Chetana
• Update : September 14, 2021

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Jabril Cox is an American footballer playing as a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

Who is Jabril Cox?

Cox is a recently drafted National Football League player, picked for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.

Cox started playing football from the high school team of Raytown South, where Nick Adkins coached him. His team was the first to win 'All-district Honor,' and he was also the first quarterback to receive 'All-Conference Honors' in his junior year. In his sophomore year, Cox was the first linebacker to win the 'All-Conference Honor.'

After suffering from a foot injury in his senior year, Cox was not recruited by the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) colleges. So, he went to North Dakota State University to play for Bison. There, he started as a redshirt but made records after records by winning all the 45 games he played for the team as a linebacker. He was awarded numerous accolades including, FCS' All-America Honors' in 2018 and 2019, 'Missouri Valley Conference Freshman and Newcomer of the Year,' and 'Freshman All-America Honors' in 2017 'Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year,' in 2018. He was ranked fourth in the 'Buck Buchanan Award Voting,' ranked among the top defensive players in the Championship, and end of the season 'Missouri Valley Football Championship Honor Roll,' in 2019.

Even after graduating college, Cox still wanted to play one more year at the Championship, and so he went on to play for the Tigers of the Louisiana State University in 2020. There, he finished the season with the third-highest tackles of the university and the career-best 9 tackles win over the Alabama State University.

Followed by the end of his season at Louisiana, Cox was picked on the fourth draft of the NFL on the 115th position by the Dallas Cowboys.

Early Life

Jabril Cox was born on 16 April 1998 in Kansas City, Missouri, to father James Cox and mother Lotu Cox. He grew up with six siblings - three brothers and three sisters. His younger brother Jasir Cox was also trained to be a footballer. He was a linebacker on the North Dakota State University football team in 2018 and 2019 and a Senior Bowl Participant.

Cox graduated high school from Raytown South High School. He then went to North Dakota State University and graduated in the spring of 2019 with a major in psychology and a minor in business.

Career

Cox's career in football started in high school. He was a three-year starter at the Raytown South and was the captain of the team two times. Nick Adkins coached him. Adkins was a dual-threat quarterback in his playing career. He also played as a wide receiver, linebacker, and safety, and cornerback. He was also a four-year starter on the basketball team.

Cox's high school football team was the first team to earn the 'All-district Honor.' Cox had passed for 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns while ran for 830 yards when he became the first quarterback in the team's history to receive 'All-Conference Honors' as a junior. In his sophomore year, he again became the first linebacker from the team to receive 'All-Conference Honor' after making 101 tackles and 13 tackles for loss, followed by 509 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns.

In his senior season, he suffered from torn ligament on his foot, which did not get him many offers from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) colleges of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (ACCA). An FBS division college would have allowed him to play on the varsity football teams. Cox then joined the North Dakota State University.

North Dakota 

Cox started his college football career as a redshirt in the Bison program in 2016. In his freshman year in 2017, he was recorded to be one of the team's key players. That year he played as an inside linebacker and won three National Football Championships (FCS). His team became the first team to hold on to the FCS 'All-America Honors' two times in a row, in 2018 and 2019. The team on a combined ratio had a 45-1 winning streak. Cox individually had 258 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks, and he joined 6 interceptions along with 2 defensive touchdowns.

Among his 45 games from the university team, he was the linebacker 38 times. He bagged the 'Missouri Valley Conference Freshman and Newcomer of the Year' in 2017, followed by 'Freshman All-America Honors' after 75 tackles and 13.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries. He was ranked the sixth position in the top freshman players of the Football Championship' Jerry Rice Award'. He had his career-best game in his freshman year, with 13 tackles in the Championship's semifinal win against Sam Houston State University. 

As a sophomore in 2018, Cox won the 'Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year.' He was ranked fourth in the 'Buck Buchanan Award Voting' among the top defensive players in the Championship. He led the Bison team with 15 wins against no losses with 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, and two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

While playing against the North Alabama State and Delaware State University, he returned interceptions for touchdowns in 43 yards and 36 yards. In 2018, North Dakota was on its second win among its three straight national winning titles with 38 wins against 24 over Eastern Washington. Cox made the highest tackle of the season, with 10 tackles while playing against the Montana State in the FCS second-round playoff.

Cox was also titled the 'Missouri Valley Football Championship Honor Roll' at the end of the season.

Louisiana State University

After his college graduation, he still wanted to play one more season in the Football Championship, so Cox transferred as a graduate student to Louisiana State University in 2020. He initially had offers from Alabama State and Louisiana State. He chose to play for the Tigers of Louisiana as he found his defensive skills would fit the team.

In an interview with ESPN, Cox recalled his decision to transfer, "I have had a great four years at North Dakota State. We have won three national titles, and I wouldn't change it for the world. But, I think it's time for a new journey, and to enter the transfer portal was a great decision for me to help elevate my game and compete at the highest level."

Cox's first game with the Tigers was in the Tiger Stadium, where he won over Arkansas and Ole Miss, with one intercepted pass and 14 yards touchdown. While playing against the Mississippi State, he added one sack for an 11 yards loss by 6 tackles. He finished the season on the third-ranking with 58 tackles and Louisiana's highlighted career-best 9 tackles while playing against Alabama.

National Football League

In 2021, Cox was the 115th pick in the 4th round of the National Football League (NFL). He was picked by the Dallas Cowboys, the first time in the team's history to choose defensive players in the first six draft selections.