Auburn football star works out with EHS football team

The Enterprise High School football team got a chance to work with and learn from Auburn University fullback Chandler Cox as the senior visited EHS on March 18.

Cox, who played for Enterprise coach Rick Darlington in Apopka, Fla., worked out alongside the Wildcat football team as they put in time in offseason workouts.

“Coach Darlington was bragging about what Enterprise is like and I just had to come down,” Cox said. “I just love sharing my story and teaching kids. I know it’s kind of a culture shock for these guys with Coach Darlington, so I wanted to come in and work with them.

“It’s a tough change for a 15-16-17-year old kid. So, I wanted to watch them work out and work with them and let them know it’s going to be okay and what they’re working for.”

Cox said he was blown away by Enterprise’s athletic facilities, especially its weight room.

“It’s incredible,” Cox flatly said. “We definitely didn’t have these kinds of facilities in Apopka. Here with the weight room, the meeting rooms and the locker room it’s kind of like a college.”

“It’s a coach’s dream. It’s crazy, I love it.”

Cox said that he sees a group of kids that want to work and get better in Enterprise, and that’s exactly the type of players his former coach wants.

“These kids just wanted to work and get better and that’s the thing about Coach Darlington,” Cox continued. “He wants those kids that have dreamed about being a Wildcat their whole life. He wants the kids that want it.”

Cox took time out from preparing for the NFL Draft to work with the Wildcats. He said that Darlington has been like a father to him during his career and wanted to express that to the team.

“He’s my guy and he’s been kind of like a dad to me,” Cox said. “He and his family are just great people, and I tell people all the time that without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m just blessed to have him in my life.”

Cox did everything Enterprise players did during the workout. He stretched with them, he did squats with them and he bench pressed alongside them.

Cox, who hopes to be drafted by an NFL team in April, said that while he’s currently speaking with a number of NFL teams he doesn’t care where he plays.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s a world of unknown right now. I don’t know who is going to want me but teams are interested right now and it’s exciting.

“It’s a dream come true for me and I just want to go to a team and do whatever they need or want me to do. I just love football and I want to keep playing.”

Cox said that knowing there are options outside of the NFL, like the AAF and the soon-to-be re-launched XFL, make things exciting for athletes.

“It’s pretty cool,” Cox said. “If it doesn’t work out with the NFL and I have to go to another league I’m okay with that. I just want to play football and play for as long as I can. I just love the sport.”