For one play in the third quarter of Auburn's 40-29 win at Ole Miss, sophomore Chandler Cox lined up at quarterback as the Ole Miss defense scrambled around trying to get a read on whatever trickery the Tigers were trying to pull. The possibilities of the formation seemed limitless, but in reality, there was only one outcome: Cox wouldn't be getting the snap.
It isn't that Gus Malzahn and the Tigers didn't trust Cox with the ball. It's that Cox has made a bigger impact for the Tigers every week without it.
After receiving some carries during Auburn's strange, pre-Rhett Lashlee performance against Clemson, Cox has emerged as a key blocker for the Tigers, with his past few games arguably being the best performances for an Auburn H-back since Jay Prosch roamed The Plains. He's settled in as another giant cog in the SEC's deadliest rushing attack.
The key to his success has been finding what he's good at and becoming comfortable with it and confident in himself. In this case, what he's good at is hitting people.
"The offense was really counting on me to do my job, and I was struggling at the beginning of the season with doing that," Cox said. "I have more confidence throughout the games I play. When we played LSU, that was really a big confidence booster for me."
However, while the LSU game was where he began turning the corner, the trip to Starkville was when he officially went a new direction.
"When we got to Mississippi State, I told myself, 'Chandler, just calm down and play football,'" Cox said. "I just did my thing and just tried to not really focus on me personally but to focus on this team. It's bigger than me."
Cox's increased production at H-back stems from his increased practice time at the position. Before the season, Cox did get some work in at H-back but mostly practiced at running back, which left him in an awkward situation where he wasn't sure what to make of his role on the team.
While he's admittedly willing to do whatever his coaches want him to, he's glad his focus is more narrow now that he's back to being a full-time H-back.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to help this team," Cox said. "That's what I've been trying to do. Being able to focus on H-back helps me a lot."
Of course, just because he's an H-back doesn't mean he won't get the ball. Cox is still determined that if he gets the ball in his hands, he's going to do something big with it. That's why some of his touches seem like missed opportunities to him.
"I'm still bummed at myself just about getting tackled at the 1-yard line against Mississippi State," Cox said. "You know, it's fun, though. I like having the ball in my hands. Like I said, I'm going to do whatever I can to help this team win."
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