Eli Cox

Center, Jacksonville Jaguars.

Player facts

Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Position: Center
Born: Oct 19, 2000 (age 25)
Birthplace: Nicholasville, KY, USA
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 309 lbs
College: Kentucky
Experience: 1 season
Status: Practice Squad

About

Eli Cox (born October 19, 2000) is an American professional football center for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats.

From Wikipedia’s article on Eli Cox, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Cox was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky. He attended West Jessamine High School where he played football, helping his team compile a record of 6–5 in his senior year. He was invited to the Louisville vs. Bluegrass Senior All-Star game and was ranked the 14th-best Kentucky recruit in his class by 247Sports. A three-star prospect, he committed to play college football for the Kentucky Wildcats, the lone Power Five team to give him an offer.

College career

Cox redshirted as a true freshman for Kentucky in 2019, then appeared in eight games as a backup guard in 2020. He won a starting role at right guard in 2021. He was a mid-season All-America selection but then suffered a season-ending hand injury in Kentucky's ninth game of the season. He was Kentucky's starting center in 2022 and then moved back to guard for the start of the 2023 season, before returning to center mid-season in 2023. He served as a team captain in the 2023 season, being named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC). He returned in 2024 and started all 12 games at center, being named third-team All-SEC. He finished his collegiate career having started 47 games, 35 at center and 12 at right guard, while having played under four different offensive line coaches. He was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine after the 2024 season.