It is a VFL game late last year. As the 211-centimetre American shuffles his way deep inside 50, a defender settles uneasily beside him.

"Holly s**t, you're as tall as hell," the defender says under his breath.

On this day, the Richmond back line has reason to fear. Collingwood's international rookie has got the hang of this game, one he only started playing a year or so before.

Cox latches on to five contested marks and kicks five goals in a best-on-ground performance.

"It was the first time I had a game where I just felt comfortable and everything kind of flowed together," the 24-year-old said.

"Obviously you have ups and downs in games and stuff, but that was one of those games where you felt like you couldn't miss, you know?"

It was not a "come out party", for they happen at the next level, but it was certainly a nice way to finish his first year in the AFL system.

It was also a tangible sign of the enormous upside Cox presents, an upside that the five clubs who tried to recruit him in 2014 thought he might have.

Back then, he was a former soccer player the size of Aaron Sandilands who could jump higher than any AFL draftee the league has ever tested, and could cover 20 metres in three seconds flat.

He can still do all that, except now we know he can also take a catch and kick a goal. If that can happen at AFL level, then the Pies could have a unique weapon up their sleeves.

"If I can kick five [goals] as a big man, you don't see that very often, so that kind of boosted the confidence, and I have sort of been riding that," Cox said, expanding on that game against Richmond.

"To be able to play in the ruck and then go forward and not just be an extra guy - actually be a part of the forward line - I'm hoping that can be a strength of mine," he said.

"I was always told as a kid, 'you can't teach height'. And being somewhat of an agile big man, that definitely helps as well."

It was not his only good game, but the five-goal haul against the Tigers was the one that prompted a couple of Melbourne's high-profile football writers to report that Cox might be closing in on a debut.

And yet, amazingly, he was not even the most-written about American-born AFL footballer that week.

The same weekend, St Kilda's 203cm ruckman Jason Holmes made his trailblazing debut against Geelong, and wowed the crowd with his extraordinary leap and athleticism in ruck duels.

While it was only a small sample size, the three games Holmes played at the top level was enough to open minds in the industry as to the role American-born athletes and their unique physical gifts could play.

Not surprisingly, Cox and Holmes have developed a connection, supporting each other through the twists and turns of the path only they and few others have travelled.

For Cox, watching his friend's storyline play out last year was motivating.

"It gives you a bit more of a kick in the butt to try and do better, I guess, to see someone like Jason succeed and show it is possible," Cox said. "You kind of want to be up in the same position as he is.

"Everyone kind of rolls the red carpet out for you when you first get here and say, 'oh, you will get a game in x amount of years'. But to see it actually happen, it's now not something that people just talk about, it's real."

No doubt Cox hopes it was also motivating for Nathan Buckley and his coaching staff ahead of what could be an important year for the honest and laid-back American.

Cox has shown encouraging signs throughout the pre-season, creating a buzz that he could be ready, perhaps to play as a key forward and tag team ruck partner to Brodie Grundy.

At the very least, the Pies are growing depth - with Grundy, Cox, ruck-forward Jarrod Witts and forward-ruck Darcy Moore set to give the team plenty of options in a season where the reduction in the interchange cap could increase the need for more big men.

Cox has developed a bond with the likes of Grundy, Witts and Moore, part of which stems from his status as one of the "intellectuals" at the club.

A graduate from Oklahoma State University, Cox has a degree in engineering and when Fairfax Media interviewed him at Collingwood's community camp in Stawell, Cox was hoping to later that week secure some real world experience with a part-time job at an engineering company.

But the more important project is coming up soon - this year's NAB Challenge - where Cox plans to further impress his teammates and coaches. The debut that almost was in late 2015 could be on the horizon in 2016, or at least that is the goal.

"Obviously that's up to [the selectors], but I think I had a pretty solid first year," he said. "So as long as everything kind of stays healthy and I keep progressing well, hopefully I will be a chance to play ones this year."

If Cox were to follow in the footsteps of Holmes, there is no doubt his parents would be on the next flight to Australia to see it (if humanly possible) or the next one that followed thereafter.

Mum and dad visited Cox for three weeks last year, and their trip coincided with the Collingwood-Essendon Anzac Day blockbuster - and a memorial service - which was a collective experience he described as "awesome".

Cox's father has brought himself up to speed on his son's new profession after purchasing the book, Australian Rules Football For Dummies, online.

"He's read it from front to back. He probably knows more about Collingwood than I do," Cox said.