Perrish Eugene Cox (born January 10, 1987) 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

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 ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

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

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

and was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in the fifth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

Cox attended

University High School University High School may refer to: Australia * University High School, Melbourne, Victoria Canada * University Hill Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia United States Arizona * University High School (Tolleson) * University High Sc ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, where he was a standout on both sides of the football. As a senior, Cox recorded 27

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and led the team with nine

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s. On offense, he had 47 catches for 670 yards and 12

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He earned first-team Class 4A all-state honors, first-team all-Central Texas honors, and played in the 2006

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

. Also a standout

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

athlete, Cox was one of the state's top performers in both sprints and jumps. As a sprinter, Cox had a personal-best time of 21.55 seconds in the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

, and in jumps, he posted bests of 7.56 meters (24-7) in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and 14.60 meters (47-9) in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

. Considered a four-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

'', Cox was listed as the No. 8 cornerback prospect in the nation. He chose Oklahoma State over

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

College career

In his

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

year at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, Cox became the first

Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

since

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushin ...

to open a season with a

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a Drive (American football), drive in gridiron football. Additionally, it may refer to a kickoff time, the scheduled time of the first kickoff of a game. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicki ...

for a touchdown when he went 96 yards against Missouri State. Playing both on defense and special teams, Cox had 24 tackles on defense while breaking up five passes. His 595 kickoff return yards in 2006 represent the third best single-season total in school history. Cox became a starter during his sophomore year, as he started the last eight games of the regular season at cornerback. He tied for second on the team with two interceptions while breaking up eight passes, and was also credited with 42 tackles. Cox averaged 21.5 yards on 31 kickoff returns and his 631 kickoff return yards are second best for Oklahoma State in a single season. As a junior, Cox again returned the first kickoff of the season 90 yards for a touchdown against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. He finished the season with 32 tackles, eight pass break-ups, and two interceptions. Cox entered his senior season just 110 kickoff return yards short of the Big 12 career record. In November 2009, he was named one of the twelve semifinalists for the 2009

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athle ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

Cox was considered one of the best cornerbacks available in the

. His draft stock dropped after a slow

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

at the NFL Combine, but he was able to improve his workout numbers at OSU's Pro Day.

Denver Broncos

Cox was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

with the 137th overall pick. He played one year for the team and was released on September 3, 2011.

San Francisco 49ers (first stint)

Cox signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

on a two-year deal on March 13, 2012. At the end of the 2012 season, Cox and the 49ers appeared in

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. In the game, he contributed on special teams, but the 49ers fell to the

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

by a score of 34–31. Cox was released by the 49ers on November 12, 2013 to make room on the active roster for returning linebacker Nick Moody.

Seattle Seahawks (first stint)

Cox was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

on November 26, 2013. He was released by the Seahawks on November 27, 2013. On December 11, 2013, Cox re-signed with the Seahawks, after a season-ending injury to safety Jeron Johnson. He was once again released by the Seahawks on December 27, 2013.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

On December 30, 2013, Cox re-signed with the 49ers after an injury suffered by Carlos Rogers following the 23-20 victory over 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 ...

Tennessee Titans

On March 14, 2015, Cox signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. On November 28, 2016, Cox was released by the Titans.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On January 18, 2017, Cox signed with the Seahawks after an injury suffered by DeShawn Shead following the 36–20 loss to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the divisional round of the 2016 playoffs. On May 9, 2017, he was released by the Seahawks.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Legal issues

In August 2009, Cox was arrested for driving with a suspended license. He was also suspended from the Cotton Bowl in his senior season by head coach

Mike Gundy Michael Ray Gundy (born August 12, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Oklahoma State University. Gundy played college football at Oklahoma State, where he played quarterback from 1986 t ...

for violating the team curfew rule. Cox was arrested on December 9, 2010, for felonious sexual assault and taken to a Douglas County jail. He was released on December 10 on a $50,000 bond. His sexual assault charges were classified as class three and class four felonies which carry a sentence of two years to life in prison. He faced a possible sentence of ten years to life if convicted. However, on March 2, 2012, Cox was found not guilty of sexual assault charges in Douglas County, Colorado criminal court.Perrish Cox case: Jury finds ex-Denver Broncos' CB Perrish Cox not guilty on both counts in sex-assault trial
. 9news.com (March 2, 2012). Retrieved on 2012-06-11.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Perrish 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Waco, Texas American football cornerbacks Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Denver Broncos players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players Tennessee Titans players