Cox talks about his MVP performance

High level Div I football recruits littered the field at last Friday's NIKE 7 on 7 Passing Championship in Long Beach. It should never be thought of as an upset any time perennial power Long Beach Poly wins anything but it still caught some off guard when the Jackrabbits took home the title led by MVP Randall Cox.

Poly is known for a lot of things but winning 7 on 7 tournaments is not one of them. They always have great athletes but win just as much with a dominating offensive and defensive line and have struggled in the past in passing tournaments due to inconsistent quarterback play.

The Jackrabbits put it all together on Friday receiving strong quarterback play from junior Morgan Fannell and clutch catches all day from a trio of receivers headlined by tournament MVP Randall Cox.

Cox, 5-9, 170 pounds put on a show and was basically un-coverable all tournament long. He's showed great quickness in and out of his breaks, caught the ball well and can really separate when the ball is in the air. He was especially strong in a semi-final win over a tough Edison team with two touchdowns and a two point conversion for good measure.

"It feels great to win this tournament and to be named MVP," Cox said. "This has been a long time coming for us, we've never won one of these before. We really played hard and played as a team.

"Everyone contributed and to beat all these great teams that we played is pretty amazing. We play Mater Dei all the time and they're a great team with great athletes. They got up on us but we rallied and it's just a great feeling right now."

On the recruiting front, things have been a little slow for Cox but after his performance, we definitely feel he can play at the high Div I level.

"Arizona and Oregon are really the only schools talking to me right now," Cox said. "No one has offered me yet but hopefully after today, that will change and my performance will spark some interest. I know I have to do it on the field and that's what I'm planning to do this year."

As a junior, Cox caught 29 balls for 386 yards and three touchdowns and with the emergence of Fannell, could double those numbers in the fall.