OSU football notebook: Perrish Cox named Thorpe semifinalist

By Brandon Chatmon, Staff Writer Comments 4
Published: November 5, 2009

Cornerback Perrish Cox was among three Big 12 defenders named semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award on Wednesday. The senior from Waco, Texas, leads the nation with 1.86 passes defended per game. Cox has added 24 tackles including 21 solo stops and one interception.

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Kansas safety Darrell Stuckey and Texas safety Earl Thomas are the other two Big 12 players on the list. The award, given to the top college defensive back in the country, will be presented at a Feb. 9 banquet in Oklahoma City.

The honor is another testimonial to the improvement Cox has made as a senior, especially with opposing quarterbacks hesitant to test him.

Cox said he has to be careful not to get frustrated when opponents aren’t throwing the ball his way.

"It does (get frustrating),” Cox said. "(OSU cornerbacks) Coach (Jason Jones) recently got on me because I got to a point where I was doing other things, things other than my job.

"It’s frustrating, you get bored, you’re flying around the field but you really don’t get much action. But I have to stay humble and keep my composure.”

Being clutch

Receiver Hubert Anyiam has emerged as the Cowboys’ top option with Dez Bryant suspended for the season.

The sophomore is quarterback Zac Robinson’s go-to guy with 12 of his 30 receptions this season coming on third down. Ten of those receptions resulted in a first down.

Anyiam has 12 catches for 156 yards and one touchdown on third down and five of those catches were for 15 or more yards.

Re-evaluating goals

With OSU’s 41-14 loss to Texas, the Cowboys had to re-evaluate their goals and focus on finishing the season with an undefeated November.

"It changed them (our goals) a lot actually,” Cox said. "One of my goals was to make a BCS bowl game. So if we win out, (you never know) a lot of crazy things happen in college football.”

The Cowboys still have a chance to earn a Fiesta Bowl berth if OSU finishes second in the Big 12 South, Texas advances to the BCS title game and the Pokes are 14th or higher in the BCS poll.