BACKGROUND: Jabril Cox, who is one of seven children, grew up in Kansas City and attended Raytown South High School. He was a four-year starter in baseball, basketball and football and was considered the top athlete in the program. As a sophomore, he posted 101 tackles as a linebacker and 509 receiving yards and nine touchdowns as a wide receiver. Cox was a dual-threat quarterback and team captain over his final two seasons. He earned All-Conference honors as a junior with 1,300 passing yards, 830 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns before an ACL injury prematurely ended his 2014 season. Cox returned as a senior and accounted for 3,107 total yards (2,103 passing, 1,004 rushing) and 31 total touchdowns (18 passing, 13 rushing), earning First Team All-District honors. He also ran track as a senior at Raytown South, recording 23.30 seconds in the 200 meters and 19 feet, 7 inches in the long jump.
A two-star recruit out of high school, Cox was the No. 77-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2016 class and the No. 34 recruit in Missouri. He received attention from nearby FCS programs like Missouri and Kansas State until his ACL injury in the final game of the 2014 season. Several FCS programs showed interest in Cox as a quarterback, but North Dakota State saw his potential on defense and brought him to Fargo as a linebacker. After four seasons with the program, he graduated with his degree in psychology (May 2020) and entered the transfer portal. More than 65 schools contacted the family with interest and Cox signed with LSU. His father, James, played football at Pratty Community College and Cameron University. His mother, Lotu, is American Samoan and attended Hawaii on a volleyball scholarship. His older twin brothers, Jamaal and Jameel, played in junior college. His younger brother, Jasir, is a junior linebacker at North Dakota State. Cox accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl.
STRENGTHS: Looks and moves like an NFL linebacker…excellent space athlete, smoothly transferring his weight and flipping his hips to run…covers ground with his gliding speed…flashes a secondary burst in pursuit or when making plays on the football…gets an early jump on plays, understanding situations, route concepts and where the quarterback wants to go with the ball…long-armed tackler with the upper body strength to be a hit-lift-drive finisher…productive and disciplined in coverage, committing only three penalties the last three seasons…natural ball skills with 26 passes defended and nine interceptions in his career…mature, football focused mindset and quickly established himself as a team leader at LSU…productive resume with 316 tackles and 38.5 tackles for loss over 48 career starts.
WEAKNESSES: Inconsistent run fits and gap leverage…undeveloped take-on defender and gets choosy with his physicality when flowing downhill…would benefit with additional violence and grit to detach from blockers…plays smooth, but not always sudden…creates inaccurate angles in his pursuit…shows several bad habits as a tackler, leading with his shoulder or tackling too low…spent most of his career versus FCS competition…played through a torn labrum as a junior that required offseason surgery.
SUMMARY: A one-year starter at LSU, Cox lined up at outside linebacker in former defensive coordinator Bo Pelini’s hybrid 3-4 scheme. After spending the previous three seasons as a “star” defender at North Dakota State, including three straight FCS championships and a 45-1 record, he transferred to LSU for his final season and didn’t look out of place in the SEC. Cox is an excellent space athlete for his size and does a great job squeezing routes in either man or zone coverages. While he prefers to play in the open, he is inconsistent through contact near the line of scrimmage and must improve the consistency of his take-on and tackling skills. Overall, Cox has holes in his game, primarily with his run fits, that make it tough to love him, but he is easy to like with his smooth athleticism, spatial awareness and football character. He projects as a versatile defender with three-down potential.
