Whatever Happened To Clayton Cox?

[Stallion]

Cox lives up to Prince's expectations
BY LEVI WOLTERS
Wichita Eagle correspondent
MANHATTAN - In Kansas State's team meeting before bedtime Friday night at the Clarion Hotel, coach Ron Prince stood before the Wildcats and his eyes settled on defensive end Clayton Cox.

"He said, 'I'm excited to see you play tomorrow, Clayton. I want to see what you're going to do tomorrow,' " Cox recalled Prince saying.

And so there it was -- expectations from the coach laid out in front of the senior who has played sparingly this season.

There was no pressure, Cox said; he slept well.

"I was excited, too," Cox said.

Cox racked up a career-high eight tackles in K-State's 51-13 win on Saturday. He recorded his first career sack, then added another. He forced a fumble and recovered one, too.

"I knew if I got a good opportunity, I could go out there and make some plays," he said.

Cox came to K-State as a walk-on in 2005 after spending 2004 at Southern Methodist and the two seasons before that at Garden City Community College. He said it was tough to leave SMU, but it wasn't the right fit.

A small-town farm kid from Weskan placed in the heart of Dallas was a tough fit.

"But in the end, it all boiled down to the football," he said. "I just felt like it wasn't my fit and my place to be."

He left SMU and the scholarship money and walked on at K-State. He had to sit out 2005 because of NCAA transfer rules and played one game in 2006.

This season didn't show much hope of playing time, either. There were Rob Jackson and Moses Manu and newcomer Chidubama Abana to overcome on the depth chart, but Cox listened to Prince when he told him he would play if he worked hard and proved he was ready.

He's played in seven of eight games, now. His biggest impact before Saturday came at Texas, where he knocked quarterback Colt McCoy silly on a first-half play that resulted in a Justin Roland interception.

"Everybody's going to have their chance," Cox said. "It's a long season, and things happen. They're going to get tired anyway, so you're going to go in for a few snaps no matter what. It's never been a doubt for me."

His blonde locks are a little shorter than his Garden City days, where he had the nicknames "Fabio" and "Triple H". But he's thinking about growing them back out, because at K-State, though he says he's not sure why, they've started calling him "Ellen."

On Saturday, he played like He-Man.

"I couldn't be happier for him," Prince said. "And I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody on the field who had as significant of an impact on the game as he did."



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[davidsmu94]

Would have been nice to have him on the field

[White Helmet]

I posted about him laying the hit on Colt McCoy about 3 weeks ago. So slow you old men can be.

[mrydel]

I posted about him laying the hit on Colt McCoy about 3 weeks ago. So slow you old men can be.

Yoda?

[Stallion]

Defensive end Cox has earned K-State’s respect
By HOWARD RICHMAN
The Kansas City Star

Cox MANHATTAN, Kan. | The media swarmed Kansas State senior defensive end Clayton Cox on Monday. Teammate Steven Cline, just outside that scrum, listened with a mischievous grin.

“I just want to hear him,â€

[thefamousguy]

Cox lives up to Prince's expectations
BY LEVI WOLTERS
Wichita Eagle correspondent
MANHATTAN - In Kansas State's team meeting before bedtime Friday night at the Clarion Hotel, coach Ron Prince stood before the Wildcats and his eyes settled on defensive end Clayton Cox.

"He said, 'I'm excited to see you play tomorrow, Clayton. I want to see what you're going to do tomorrow,' " Cox recalled Prince saying.

And so there it was -- expectations from the coach laid out in front of the senior who has played sparingly this season.

There was no pressure, Cox said; he slept well.

"I was excited, too," Cox said.

Cox racked up a career-high eight tackles in K-State's 51-13 win on Saturday. He recorded his first career sack, then added another. He forced a fumble and recovered one, too.

"I knew if I got a good opportunity, I could go out there and make some plays," he said.

Cox came to K-State as a walk-on in 2005 after spending 2004 at Southern Methodist and the two seasons before that at Garden City Community College. He said it was tough to leave SMU, but it wasn't the right fit.

A small-town farm kid from Weskan placed in the heart of Dallas was a tough fit.

"But in the end, it all boiled down to the football," he said. "I just felt like it wasn't my fit and my place to be."

He left SMU and the scholarship money and walked on at K-State. He had to sit out 2005 because of NCAA transfer rules and played one game in 2006.

This season didn't show much hope of playing time, either. There were Rob Jackson and Moses Manu and newcomer Chidubama Abana to overcome on the depth chart, but Cox listened to Prince when he told him he would play if he worked hard and proved he was ready.

He's played in seven of eight games, now. His biggest impact before Saturday came at Texas, where he knocked quarterback Colt McCoy silly on a first-half play that resulted in a Justin Roland interception.

"Everybody's going to have their chance," Cox said. "It's a long season, and things happen. They're going to get tired anyway, so you're going to go in for a few snaps no matter what. It's never been a doubt for me."

His blonde locks are a little shorter than his Garden City days, where he had the nicknames "Fabio" and "Triple H". But he's thinking about growing them back out, because at K-State, though he says he's not sure why, they've started calling him "Ellen."

On Saturday, he played like He-Man.

"I couldn't be happier for him," Prince said. "And I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody on the field who had as significant of an impact on the game as he did."



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THERE'S THAT DOG GONE MODEL BITING US IN THE U KNOW WHAT AGAIN? BLAME ALL LOSSES ON THE MODEL!