Florida football has dismissed outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr., coach Billy Napier confirmed at a news conference Monday. Napier said he would keep the specific cause for dismissal in-house and that it was a “cumulative” decision.

Cox, a redshirt junior, leads the Gators in tackles for loss this year and led them in sacks last year.

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“Being a football player at the University of Florida is a privilege, right, there’s certain expectations and standards that come with that,” Napier said. “Brenton’s been here in his third year and obviously, he’s done a lot of good things for the University of Florida and we wish him nothing but the best, but sometimes, you have to make decisions in the best interest of the team. Certainly Brenton, we’re going to do everything we can to help him with his transition, but it’s simple as that. We’ve decided to move on.”

Asked what the specific grounds for dismissal were, Napier said: “I don’t know that we would get specific relative to what caused the decision. I think it’s more of a cumulative effect here.”

The former five-star recruit ranked as the No. 23 player in the Class of 2018 and played two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Florida. He was dismissed from the Bulldogs’ program and entered the transfer portal after a spring 2019 marijuana arrest and clashes with Georgia’s coaching staff.

Cox was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman in the first week of the 2022 season and named to the midseason Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. He played Saturday in Florida’s loss to his former team, assisting in two tackles.

Cox recorded 100 tackles — 53 solo and 47 assisted — in 29 games over three seasons with the Gators.

(Photo: Kim Klement / USA Today)