Mizzou wrestling’s Brian Smith and J’den Cox brace for emotional Senior Day

While scrolling through pictures on his computer just days ago, Brian Smith came upon one in particular that caught his eye.

The portrait featured two boys in football uniforms — his son, Quinn, and another he treats like his son: J’den Cox. The two played on the same sixth-grade team and Smith was the coach.

As has often been the case over his 18-year stint as the University of Missouri’s wrestling coach, seeing a picture like that was a sign of how fast time flies for Smith. The fact that Cox’s Senior Day is Sunday against Northern Iowa doesn’t help.

“It seems like yesterday we were running our belly right and belly left and handing the ball off to J’den and having fun and winning games,” Smith said Thursday. “It’s flown by. I’ve known (J’den’s) family for a long time, so it’s like one of my kids graduating or moving on.

“Yes, it is emotional.”

Dealing with those emotions has been a critical factor in Cox’s storied career, which only has a few matches left after Sunday. Mizzou will face SIU Edwardsville on Wednesday, the NWCA National Duals next weekend, the MAC Championships and then the NCAA Championships.

“It’s always emotional knowing that it’s a recognition that you’re moving on in life,” Cox said. “There’s always emotions to go with it.”

One up for Cox: the time he stepped on campus and won both the Mid-American conference championship and the national championships his freshman year, shaped expectations.

Many doubted the Columbia native’s ability to do so at 197 pounds as a freshman, which led to Cox’s early success.

One down: the loss to Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder in 2015 forced Cox to rethink things. After winning four state championships in high school, doing the same in college was the goal. That match derailed that hope and allowed him to change.

“I remember it like it was just yesterday. I actually remember my losses a lot more than I remember my wins,” Cox said Friday. “It was something I had to learn from. … If anything, it was kind of a meant-to-be thing because it spiked my confidence.”

Afterwards, he changed his eating habits — like switching chocolate milk for almond milk (a switch he said he’s failed to keep up with). But maybe more than that, he learned what it took to get back on top.

Cox did just that last year by beating Penn State’s No. 1-ranked Morgan McIntosh to win his second national championship and then earning a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics.

Now, thanks to a break that spanned three weeks given by Smith so that Cox could refuel his body, the senior wants to complete an undefeated season.

Thus far, Cox is 18-0, and fellow senior Matt Manley, who is part of the graduating class that’s won four MAC titles, said no match has been close this year. Even Cox’s “off days are better than 99 percent of everyone else’s best days,” Manley said.

Former Missouri wrestler Ben Askren — who accomplished the undefeated feat in 2006 and 2007 — has confidence Cox will finish the job.

“Of course (I’d be happy to see him join me in doing that),” Askren said. “The opposite would be cheering for him to lose, and that’s not going to happen. Yeah, I’m cheering for J’den to win every time he goes out there. … I just don’t foresee J’den losing. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I don’t see it happening.”

At the least, Cox will join Askren in historic fashion — by way of bobblehead with 500 Cox bobbleheads to be given out ahead of the 2 p.m. dual on Sunday. The Missouri marketing department, which helped coordinate Smith’s idea, was all for it.

Why?

“He was here during a difficult time. There were difficult times at Missouri, yet he was that beacon of light that just (was) always giving to others,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of great athletes here, but he’s kind of the spokesman. He’s asked to do a lot for the university — be at a lot of meetings, go play his guitar for the chancellor’s meetings and things like that.”

Because he does those things, Smith said he wants Cox to be remembered for that aforementioned “giving.”

“Yes, he was a great student-athlete and (won many) things, but he was giving to others. … If you can give in your lifetime, you’re going to receive a lot,” Smith said. “I think that’s what he has done.”

Cox has received coaching from Smith, inspiration from teammates and love from his family over these last four years. But what kind of reception will he get once it’s all said and done?

“If anything, I just want to be remembered that I was me,” Cox said. “That J’den was J’den. ... I want to be remembered as a good guy, someone who was committed to what he was doing and was kind and fair to others. But at the same time, that I was J’den. I was just (myself).”

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Mizzou wrestling’s Brian Smith and J’den Cox brace for emotional Senior Day."