The Sports Xchange

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A job interview doesn’t usually cost enough to make a guy take out a loan. Then again, few interviews require 10 months of full-time training and the accompanying costs for plane tickets, food, supplements, equipment, gym memberships and gas for your car just so you can get to that gym.

For Carolina Panthers defensive end Rakim Cox, the chance to chase NFL dreams has been priceless.

After he went undrafted out of Villanova in 2014, Cox was picked up by the Vikings, who released him in training camp. Two weeks later, he landed in Miami, only to be cut again after eight days.

The 24-year-old then watched others live out his dream last season until he got another look in March at the veterans combine in Phoenix. His agent paid for his flight, but he had to front $580 for the application fee and physicals. With no money coming in, it wasn’t easy to find money to take out.

“The kind of training I was doing, you couldn’t do that with a job. I was waking up early and working out in the morning, afternoon and at night,” Cox said.

“I had money saved from school a little bit, and I took out a loan, had a credit card and was using that to budget wisely. Food was probably the biggest expense, seeing that I’m a big defensive end. I was just trying to budget the best that I can with some help from family and friends.”

Listed at 6 feet 4 and 260 pounds, Cox ideally would like to play at 270. That’s a lot of food.

On Friday night, he ate late in the preseason opener.

With the Panthers clinging to a late lead in Buffalo, Cox dominated the final drive.

“He’s shown a real good edge-rush ability,” coach Ron Rivera said. “He affected four of the five plays. He had two sacks, forced a scramble and knocked a ball down.”

With Charles Johnson still nursing a sore calf and because the defensive ends in front of him were ineffective in Buffalo, Cox shared first-team snaps Monday with undrafted free agent Arthur Miley. So, while his big moments came in a preseason game against third-team linemen and a fourth-string quarterback, it appears Cox has earned a longer look.

“I can’t control where they put me at or where I’m going to get in and who it’s going to be against,” he said. “All I can control is how I play; so, whoever is across from me, I’m going to do what I have to do to get to the quarterback.”

If he can do that throughout the preseason, that loan he took out will have been more than worth it.

“Whatever comes, I’m grateful,” he said. “I pray every day, and I’m thankful for all the opportunities and everything that comes to me, and whatever I can’t control, I don’t worry about it. I’m in a position where I can control what I do right now, so if I can execute and do what I need to do then I’ll be here long term.”

–Through two weeks of camp and a preseason game, the battle for the Panthers’ second starting defensive end spot remains stagnant.

With Johnson back in Charlotte resting a sore calf Friday night, Frank Alexander, Kony Ealy, Mario Addison and Wes Horton had plenty of opportunities to stand out against the Bills.

They combined to play 109 snaps. They totaled three tackles, no sacks and one quarterback hurry.

“I’m disappointed. I was kind of hoping for a little bit more, and we didn’t get it,” Rivera said. “We got a lot out of the young guys. I thought the guys who played the fourth quarter really stepped up, but I’m disappointed in what we had from our defensive line going into the second quarter.”

Undrafted free agents Rakim Cox, Arthur Miley and Steve Miller had some nice moments, but those came in the second half. Against Buffalo’s starters and top backups, the Panthers’ pass rush was nearly nonexistent.

“I’m disappointed, too,” Alexander said. “I know I could play better. I feel like I could have been rushing better, played the cut block better. I was getting cut a lot, and the ball was getting on the outside of us.”

After barely laying a hand on quarterback Matt Cassel in the first quarter, Carolina couldn’t contain Tyrod Taylor, who rushed for 47 yards on six carries.

“He kind of got us off balance. It’s about being disciplined and being where you need to be and get a quarterback where you can put yourself in position, and we didn’t do a good job of doing that,” Rivera said.

–Because the Panthers struggled on special teams last year, it was easy to assume they would just pick up where they left off during the preseason opener.

Despite adding “aces” this offseason, the punt unit allowed the Bills to pick up 19 yards on each of their first two returns. But the problem wasn’t necessarily with the coverage.

“It was not a great start for me,” punter Brad Nortman said. “They weren’t coming off my foot well.”

Nortman hit his first punt 51 yards and the second went 42. They were low line drives, though, so even speedsters like Colin Jones and Teddy Williams didn’t have much of a chance to get down the field.

The Panthers haven’t had to worry much about Nortman in his three seasons; and, fortunately for them, he appeared back on track after the opening quarter. Of his next five punts, three were returned a total of 14 yards.

“It just takes me some time to get into the rhythm of the game. Luckily, I had some better ones by the end,” Nortman said. “It was uncharacteristic, in my opinion. It gave me an opportunity to figure out what I was doing wrong and, again, let the rhythm of the game come to me. By the time I figured it out, I ended well.”