MSU captain Demetrious Cox leading like Kurtis Drummond

EAST LANSING – It wasn’t a surprise that Riley Bullough’s teammates named him one of Michigan State’s three captains. It’s almost a birthright in his family.

In some ways, Tyler O’Connor’s captaincy wasn’t, either, after being named starting quarterback. And especially after it became a defining concern for Connor Cook’s pro future.

Demetrious Cox might have been the surprise addition, but it makes sense. The fifth-year veteran enters his senior season not only as a captain but finally solidified as a starter at safety, his true position.

“It’s a real blessing, such a blessing,” Cox said after the announcement Thursday. “I feel honored that they have that much faith in me. I have faith in myself, I always have. I just feel like the past couple years, being vocal and picking people up around me has been my goal. And that’s where it comes from.”

Michigan State names three captains for 2016 football season

A native of Jeannette, Pa., Cox becomes the seventh defensive back to be named a captain in the 10th-year tenure of coach Mark Dantonio, himself a former college defensive back and former secondary coach at MSU under Nick Saban. Cox joins a list that includes Travis Key (2007), Otis Wiley (2008), Ross Weaver (2009), Trenton Robinson (2011), Darqueze Dennard (2013) and Kurtis Drummond (2014).

Co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett, who is also Cox’s position coach, said Cox will live up to that heritage.

“(Cox) is doing the things Kurtis Drummond used to do – understanding the defense to the point where he is helping others, calling out things before they happen, seeing things before they happen,” Barnett said. “He has done an outstanding job so far.”

The 6-foot-1, 197-pound Cox has shifted positions and roles his entire college career. He was a four-star recruit who took a surprising redshirt in 2012 to becoming a special teams standout on MSU’s Rose Bowl team a year later. He then served predominantly as a backup safety behind Drummond as a sophomore.

"Really, it was just the evolution of going through adversity, learning from mistakes – from past leaders' mistakes, my mistakes – and getting through those mistakes and being able to make the next step and next leap in my career here without looking back or taking a step back,” Cox recalled. “I really just think being a positive vibe for the team is really what’s important for me.”

Copeland, strong safety duo could propel secondary

Last fall, Cox’s first year as a starter, he opened the season opposite Vayante Copeland at cornerback. It partly was due to the Spartans’ depth at safety with returning starters RJ Williamson and Montae Nicholson, and it partly came about because MSU was thin at corner with the loss of Trae Waynes to the NFL a year early. That lasted the first four games. Cox shifted back to free safety for wins over Purdue and Rutgers, then returned to cornerback for the next four games as Nicholson and cornerback Darian Hicks struggled and true freshman safeties Grayson Miller and Khari Willis moved into starting roles.

Eventually, Cox and Nicholson reassumed the starting safety jobs the week of the Ohio State game and remained there the rest of the season. Cox finished with 79 tackles, third on the team, along with three interceptions and seven pass break-ups.

Cox said he thought he might get the nod from his peers when teammates kept telling him he was going to be a captain throughout fall camp. It’s a role he’s embracing.

“I just want to be a fun person to be around, somebody that guys like to come to. … I just feel like I don’t want to be a captain or a leader that says something just to say things. I feel like I’m pretty cool until I feel like something needs to be said, and then I’ll say something to whoever it is.

“I feel like I can have a lot of fun and bring a lot of enthusiasm. But when it’s time to get down to work, that’s what we got to do. And that’s the kind of leader I want to be remembered as.”