55 Days to Purdue Football: Tristan Cox

We’re under 8 weeks to go until the kickoff of the 2021 season and today we get a new #55 after Derrick Barnes rocked the number the last few years before going to the NFL.

Tristan Cox - Fr.

Somerset, KY (Pulaski County)

6’3”, 240 pounds

Linebacker

2021 Projection: Possible reserve

Cox comes to Purdue in an interesting spot because he has great size as an inside linebacker. He was a three-star recruit and he had a wild junior season in 2019. According to his Purdue profile he had 94 tackles, 20 for a loss, and three sacks with an interception and a fumble recovery as a junior and added 504 yards and eight touchdowns rushing and 252 yards and seven TDs through the air.

That means he is simply a pure athlete, and it might be hard to keep him off the field this fall as a true freshman. He won’t have to play both ways at Purdue, so seeing him get to the field early would not be a huge surprise.