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The first time Perrish Cox touched the ball at OSU, he ran the game’s opening kickoff back for a touchdown.
The last game he played in Boone Pickens Stadium, he did it again by returning the first punt for a score as well.
But it’s more about what happened between those two returns as a player and more importantly, a person, that tells how far he has come.
Cox, a Jim Thorpe Award finalist, which is presented to the top defensive back in the country, said he wasn’t proud of the person he was when he arrived at OSU.
“When I first came in I was young and had a lot to learn,” Cox said. “I was getting in trouble a lot and not listening, not going to class, not doing my work. I was partying — everything. Anything you can name I was into. Just a lot of negative things that weren’t putting a positive note on my life.”
Cox said he looks back on his journey with no regrets and with the knowledge he has learned from his mistakes and has become a person he and his family can be proud of.
“It was especially for myself, and for my children and family back home,” Cox said. “It was for them. What I’m doing now, no one has ever done in my family. I’m gonna be the first to do a lot. Graduate from a four year college. Actually go to a four year college and play football at the level I’m on.”
Cox said the personal changes he has made have turned his life around and made him the type of player he wants and expects to be.
“If you look at all those negative things and flip it, that’s what happened,” Cox said. “I stopped partying a lot. I learned to come watch film and look at the playbook a lot.”
He also started concentrating more on school.
“Going to class, getting my work done. Nobody has to call me and warn me. I’m never late. All of those things have made me a better person in life and a better football player.”
Cox might pride himself for the changes he has made off the field, but the average OSU fan only sees what he does on the field.
Cox’s statistics show the difference.
In 2006-2009, Cox recorded six interceptions. In his senior season he has had four.
Cox had 21 passes broken up in his first three seasons, and has accounted for 15 this season.
Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and AFCA All-American Russell Okung, said Cox has come a long way to being a team leader, and is also one of OSU’s biggest playmakers.
“He can score at any time he touches the ball,” Okung said. “He makes the other guys want to go out there and do the same thing, as well.”
Coach Mike Gundy said he cannot speak enough of the overall turnaround Cox has made.
“You got great leadership with Perrish Cox,” Gundy said. “I’m not going to try to go overboard but I’ve mentioned this throughout the year. Perrish Cox has turned a 360 on us about 18 months ago. His attitude has been tremendous.”
Gundy’s geometry might be in question but his heart is in the right place for a player he has seen grow on and off the field in Stillwater.
Defensive coordinator Bill Young has only seen the new and improved Cox, but didn’t hesitate to rave about the player he inherited.
“We’re extremely proud of the way he’s played,” Young said. “He’s a vocal leader who leads by example. We’re nominating him for the Jim Thorpe award. So that’s how we feel about him. We think he’s one of the top corners in the country.”
Cox’s interest level coming out of high school was evidence of the potential he had.
He received scholarship opportunities from Oklahoma, LSU, Nebraska and Baylor but said he chose OSU because of the promises they made and the promises they have come to keep.
“They promised my parents I would graduate and they also told them I would become a better person overall,” Cox said. “That’s what they did. They turned my life around. I can actually look back on every step that I took that made me the person I am now.”
Of course OSU will never forget Cox’s return for a touchdown in his debut freshman season, the game opening touchdown under the lights against Colorado on his last night playing in Boone Pickens Stadium, or any of the other many memorable, game-changing plays Cox has been responsible for in his time here at OSU.
Cox said he will remember and cherish the timeless moments he was a part of at OSU. He also said that although a majority of those moments occurred on the field, it is the person he has become away from the field that will have a lasting impression on the rest of his life.
Cox has an anticipated career in the NFL, but said he will never hesitate to come back and visit Stillwater.
“This is my home away from home,” Cox said. “This is my spot. This is my other family.”
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