Landon Cox won’t finish in the top five in receptions in the Mid-American Conference this season. The top 10 is a stretch, too.
Those numbers won’t help the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Northern Illinois senior wide receiver’s draft stock. As long as a strong, multi-faceted rushing attack remains the calling card of the Huskies, NIU’s wide receivers will take a backseat in the publicity department in the already pass-happy MAC.
That doesn’t really bother Cox. It never has, at least outwardly.
“You can’t control what people say, think or how they feel,” said Cox, who led NIU with 45 receptions for 535 yards last season. “But, what you can do is go out there and perform to the best of your ability. That’s my main goal, whether it’s blocking, run-blocking, passing, whatever I can do, I will.”
That anonymity in the public eye for Cox hasn’t been lost on NIU coach Jerry Kill, though, who went out of his way to single out Cox before the season even started.
“At receiver, Landon Cox is the most underrated player in our conference without a doubt,” Kill said. “I have said that all along. He is a great football player, he gives up a lot for the team. He is a great blocker and a good receiver. He does a lot for our football team.”
Long considered one of the best blocking wideouts in the MAC, Cox has shown the versatility – he blocked a punt that led to a game-winning field goal against Bowling Green as a sophomore and still helps out on special teams – that could make him attractive to a potential NFL suitor.
“There are a few guys on the team that I feel have that ‘it’ factor to get into the league,” NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish said. “He’s got it. It’s always great to have stats at the college level, but he doesn’t necessarily need that. I think he just needs a pro day to see what he can do.
“He’ll do that and I have no doubt he’ll be on an NFL team.”
Cox said the next step for him is to continue to develop as a complete receiver, running crisper routes and becoming a more efficient blocker while remaining the versatile threat that has helped NIU in the passing game.
With those goals in front of him, and not a lot of recognition to show for what he’s done, Cox feels like he has something to show teammates, coaches, fans, scouts and media this season.
“I always feel that way,” he said. “Every day I wake up, I feel like I have something to prove, and mainly that’s to myself. I’m my biggest judge.”
A few more passes his way wouldn’t hurt things, either. That’s something that the NIU offense recognized and acknowledged before preseason practice even started.
“He’s got the NFL build, I think that’s pretty obvious for anyone to see,” Harnish said. “Now the only thing is, we’ve just got to get him the ball. If we can do that, he can have a breakout year for sure.”
A breakout year, which likely would mean moving into that top 10 or top five in catches in the conference, could mean big things for Cox reaching something he’s always wanted.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play at the next level,” Cox said. “But right now, the dream of mine is to win a MAC championship. First things first.”
