Eli Cox (born October 19, 2000) is an American professional football center for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats.
| No. 65 – Houston Texans | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Roster status | Active |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 19, 2000 Nicholasville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 309 lb (140 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Jessamine (Nicholasville) |
| College | Kentucky (2019–2024) |
| NFL draft | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editCox was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky.[1] He attended West Jessamine High School where he played football, helping his team compile a record of 6–5 in his senior year.[2] 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.[1] A three-star prospect, he committed to play college football for the Kentucky Wildcats, the lone Power Five team to give him an offer.[3][4]
College career
editCox redshirted as a true freshman for Kentucky in 2019, then appeared in eight games as a backup guard in 2020.[4] He won a starting role at right guard in 2021.[4] He was a mid-season All-America selection but then suffered a season-ending hand injury in Kentucky's ninth game of the season.[5] 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.[6] He served as a team captain in the 2023 season, being named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC).[7] He returned in 2024 and started all 12 games at center, being named third-team All-SEC.[1] 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.[8] He was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine after the 2024 season.[9]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m) | 306 lb (139 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 6 ft 5+5⁄8 in (1.97 m) | 5.02 s | 1.75 s | 2.90 s | 4.58 s | 7.63 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) | 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m) | |
| All values from NFL Combine[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Cox was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2025.[12] He was waived on August 26 as part of final roster cuts, and re-signed to the practice squad.[13][14] On January 20, 2026, Cox signed a reserve/futures contract with Houston.[15]
Personal life
editCox is married.[16]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Eli Cox". Kentucky Wildcats.
- ↑ Moore, Josh (May 7, 2018). "Local star gives UK football first in-state commit in more than two years". Lexington Herald-Leader.
- ↑ Vaught, Larry (May 10, 2018). "West Jessamine's Eli Cox picks UK". The Advocate-Messenger. p. B1, B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 Vaught, Larry (September 3, 2021). "Cox Finally Gets His Chance To Start For UK". The Winchester Sun. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Vaught, Larry (August 3, 2023). "Eli Cox wants to be part of 'physical, nasty' offensive line this season". Jessamine Journal.
- ↑ Hale, Jon (November 29, 2023). "Where Kentucky football offensive line stands after two important return announcements". Lexington Herald-Journal.
- ↑ Vaught, Larry (August 1, 2024). "Eli Cox and his family in no hurry for UK career to end". The Advocate-Messenger – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Eli Cox NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Kentucky IOL". Bleacher Report. December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Woods, Kory (March 3, 2025). "Kentucky OL aims to emulate Lions Pro Bowler's tough, consistent play". MLive.com.
- ↑ "Eli Cox Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ↑ "Eli Cox College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (5-9-2025)". HoustonTexans.com. May 9, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (08-26-2025)". HoustonTexans.com. August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (08-27-2025)". HoustonTexans.com. August 27, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Houston Texans Transactions (1-20-2026)". HoustonTexans.com. January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ↑ Vaught, Larry (August 26, 2024). "Married life suits UK's Cox". The Jessamine Journal.