KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sports, for many fans across the country, serve as an outlet when tragedy strikes.
Fenway Park following the Boston Bombing in 2012; Yankee Stadium after September 11th; and Hokie Football on the Saturday following the Virginia Tech tragedy evoke some of the most powerful and emotional images of when sports serve as a coping mechanism.
Cheering for a beloved team along with thousands of people around doing the same can be an escape from the sadness — or at least be one for a few hours.
But sometimes those same players that are leaned on to give some hope in times of despair are actually going through tragedies of their own. Ones that we may not even know about.
On Saturday afternoon, Florida’s Bryan Cox, Jr. took the field in Knoxville and started at defensive end in front of more than 100,000 screaming fans. All the while, he was dealing with a personal loss of his own that neither fans nor members of the media were aware of.
Cox’s grandfather Otis Williams, died earlier in the week. Cox went to his grandfather’s wake in Atlanta, Ga., on Thursday evening, and attended the funeral on Friday.
"Got back about 10:30 last night," Cox said. "That’s when my flight came in. I went to bed. I woke up and it was game day."
Roughly 24 hours after going to his grandfather’s funeral, Cox played the best game of his Gator career against Tennessee.
One season after totaling five tackles and two sacks in eight games, Cox recorded five solo tackles, including three sacks for a loss of 26 total yards against the Volunteers.
Cox said post game that he dedicated Saturday’s game to his belated grandfather.
"I definitely was playing for him and my family and just tried to do the best I could out there," Cox said.
Cox’s third sack came at an opportune time for the Gators. Early in the fourth quarter on second and 3 with Tennessee at midfield and driving, Cox sacked Volunteers quarterback Justin Worley for a loss of six yards to force a long Tennessee third down.
Worley could only find tight end Ethan Wolfe for three yards on third down to force a Volunteers punt.
Getting the Florida offense back on the field allowed quarterback Treon Harris and tailback Matt Jones to drive 49 yards on eight plays to the Tennessee 32 yard line.
A successful Austin Hardin 49-yard field goal put the Gators up 10-9 while burning the game clock down to 6:20.
Cox, whose third sack helped get the Florida offense back on the field to take the lead – as well as the momentum in the fourth quarter – said he didn’t think for a second about the possibility of sitting out in the game in light his grandfather’s death.
"It never crossed my mind at all," Cox said. "I love this game and I felt like he wanted me to play this game."
Florida’s defense as a whole had an impressive two-week turnaround. After giving up a program-high 672 total yards to Alabama in Week 4, it held the Tennessee rushing attack – led by Jalen Hurd, who came in with 328 yards through four games – to 28 total yards. Hurd accounted for 39 of those yards.
The Gators’ Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title hopes are still very much alive as they prepare for LSU this week. With games against LSU, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina still looming, the Gators are currently tied for second place with Georgia and Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference East standings.
There’s a lot of football left to be played, but Cox believes the win over Tennessee may have provided the spark the Gators need for this season.
"It was very big," Cox said. "This right here was the turning point of the season to me. We have to turn this around. We have to get back right. And I think this is a good first step."
Follow Morgan Moriarty on Twitter @morgan_moriarty
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. helps tackle a Tennessee player during Florida's 10-9 victory against Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
