Demetrious Cox (born April 20, 1994) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

, and signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

Early life

Cox played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Jeannette Senior High School in

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,780 at the 2020 census. Jeannette was founded in 1888 and named after Jeannette Hartupee McKee, the wife of one of the city's founders, H. Sellers McKe ...

, and was a three-year starter. He completed 55 of 88 passes for 698 yards and 4 touchdowns while also rushing for 621 yards and 12 touchdowns his junior year in 2010. He also recorded 55 tackles and 3 interceptions in 2010. Cox completed 62 of 106 passes for 910 yards and 9 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,263 yards and 22 touchdowns his senior year in 2011. He also recorded 63 tackles and 3 interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, in 2011. Jeannette had a 12–1 record and advanced to the state championship game in 2011. He was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

SuperPrep ''Super Prep'' is a former sports magazine that was based in Laguna Beach, California. It was published in 1985 by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 1987, ''The Boston ...

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

and

PrepStar ''PrepStar College Recruiting'', known also as ''PrepStar'', is an online magazine at www.prepstar.com, which was established in 1982. It provides information on the top football and basketball prospects in the United States. The online magazi ...

. Cox also played basketball at Jeannette and scored over 1,000 career points. He averaged 18 points per game his junior season, earning All-Conference honors.

College career

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, Cox was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

from 2013 to 2016. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2012. He played in 14 games in 2013, recording 3 solo tackles and 3 tackle assists. He played in 13 games, starting 1, in 2014, totaling 19 solo tackles, 7 tackle assists, 1 sack, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. His one start was at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. Cox played in 14 games, all starts, in 2015, recording 48 solo tackles, 31 tackle assists, 7 pass breakups, 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery which was returned for a touchdown. He started eight games at cornerback and six at safety. He was named Third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the media. Cox played in ten games, all starts at

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

, in 2016, totaling 21 solo tackles, 34 tackle assists, 5 pass breakups and 1 interception which was returned for a touchdown. He was one of three team captains in 2016. He played in 51 games, starting 25, during his college career, recording 91 solo tackles, 75 tackle assists, 1 sack, 14 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumbled, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 touchdowns. He graduated from Michigan State in May 2016 with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies in social science.

Professional career

Cox was rated the 12th best free safety in the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

by NFLDraftScout.com. Cox signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017. On September 3, 2017, Cox was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 24, 2017, with an ankle injury. On August 31, 2018, Cox was waived by the Panthers. On September 3, 2018, Cox was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

' practice squad. He was released on October 2, 2018. On October 10, 2018, Cox was signed to the Bengals practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on December 31, 2018. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. Cox was selected in the 5th round during phase four in the 2020 XFL Draft by the

New York Guardians New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020. Cox signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the CFL on January 15, 2021. He was released on June 18, 2021.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Demetrious Living people 1994 births People from Jeannette, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American football safeties American football cornerbacks Michigan State Spartans football players Cincinnati Bengals players Carolina Panthers players Arizona Cardinals players New York Guardians players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen