Joe Cox

Joe Cox was named to the Gamecocks’ coaching staff on Jan. 9, 2020. Cox comes to Columbia after spending the past five seasons as an assistant coach at Colorado State University under the tutelage of Mike Bobo. In his first season in Columbia, Cox will be in charge of the Gamecock wide receivers.

Cox spent the 2019 season as the Rams’ wide receivers coach after mentoring the tight ends from 2016-18. The former Georgia quarterback, who started every game in 2009 for Mike Bobo, joined the CSU staff as a graduate assistant in 2015 after coaching for two years at the high school level in his home state of North Carolina.

Cox helped propel a Rams’ offense that turned in some of the most productive seasons in school history. CSU has posted two of the top five scoring seasons in school history (3rd—35.3 in 2016 and 5th—33.4 in 2017) and two of the top four marks for total offense with Cox on the staff, including a school-record 492.5 yards per game in 2017 (4th, 462.5 in 2016). The 2017 Rams also set school records for first downs per game (25.5) and third-down conversions (50.3 pct.).

In 2019, the Rams ranked 14th in the nation in passing offense, averaging 305.3 yards per game through the air. Junior wide receiver Warren Jackson averaged 111.9 receiving yards per game, fourth in the country, on 77 receptions with eight touchdowns in 10 games. True freshman wideout Dante Wright added 57 catches for 805 yards. Jackson and sophomore tight end Trey McBride (45 catches for 560 yards and four TDs) earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors.

In 2018, with Cox guiding a talented group of tight ends, the Rams ranked 13th in FBS in passing offense (304.9), registered the fourth-highest mark in school history for passing touchdowns with 26 and the 10th-best season for total offense, averaging 410.5 yards per game.

The tight end group played a significant role in the performance of the Rams’ record-setting offense in 2017. Senior Dalton Fackrell tied for second on the team with six touchdown receptions among his 26 catches, which ranked fifth on the team, for 313 yards. Freshman Cameron Butler burst onto the scene and added 12 receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns. His receptions and yards were the most by a CSU freshman tight end since 2004 and his three touchdowns were most since 2002.

In 2016 the Rams’ tight end corps was instrumental in helping the Rams to rank fourth in FBS in red-zone scoring (94.6 pct.), as well as 12th in passing efficiency, 28th in scoring offense (35.3) and 30th in total offense (462.5). The unit also contributed to the Rams’ stellar pass protection, which resulted in a No. 8 national ranking for fewest sacks allowed (1.0), including just one total in the final six games of the season. Their impact on the run game resulted in the second-highest yards-per-carry average (5.3) in school history and the second-best rushing total (2,832 net yards).

Cox was part of the coaching staff at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, N.C., from 2013-14 when the school won back-to-back state championships. He joined the Mallard Creek staff in 2013 as quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2014.

As Georgia’s starting quarterback in 2009, Cox completed 185-of-331 pass attempts for 2,584 yards and 24 touchdowns, at the time the second-best single-season total in UGA history. An offensive captain, Cox led the Bulldogs to a record of 8-5, and was named Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week for his five-touchdown, 375-yard performance at Arkansas. For his career, Cox completed 56 percent of his passes for 3,016 yards and 29 touchdowns with 16 interceptions.

Cox was the 2004 state of North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and AP Prep Player of the Year, and a Parade Magazine All-American at Independence (N.C.) High School.
Cox earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgia in December 2009.

He and his wife, Erica, were married in March 2016 and have one daughter, Avery.