The former walk-on tight end, who was part of three national championship teams at North Dakota State, has developed into a very intriguing pro prospect.

• Cody Mauch
• DOB: 1/15/1999
• Height: 6’ 5”
• Weight: 302 pounds
• Position: Offensive Tackle
• Hometown: Breckenridge, MN
• High School: Hankinson High School, Hankinson, ND
• College: North Dakota State University

Combine Results:

• Hands: 9 3/4”
• Arms: 32 3/8”
• Wingspan: 79 3/4”
• Forty: 5.08 seconds
• Shuttle: 4.55 seconds
• 10-yard split: 1.79 seconds
• Vertical: 29”
• Broad jump: 9’
• Three cone: 7.33 seconds
• Bench press: 29 reps

High School Achievements: Cody Mauch played nine-man football at Hankinson High School in Hankinson, North Dakota. He also played basketball and competed in track and field. He owns the school record for touchdowns with 24 over his four years. He also set the school record for sacks in a season, and a career. Mauch was a two-time all-region and all-state selection and was the region co-Senior Athlete of the Year. As a senior, he was named second-team All-State in basketball after averaging 20 points, and 15.3 rebounds per game. Mauch committed to play football at North Dakota State University as a preferred walk-on.

College Career: Mauch redshirted as a freshman walk-on tight end, and then added 40 pounds of bodyweight to make the move to the offensive line. He played in six games as a redshirt freshman, and in all 16 games as a redshirt sophomore, as the Bison won back-to-back FCS titles. He won the starting right tackle job, and then became the starting left tackle, in the shortened 2020-2021 season. The next year, Mauch started all 15 games at left tackle, and the Bison once again won the national championship. In his redshirt super senior season, Mauch started every game, and was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. During his six seasons at NDSU, Mauch played in 58 games, totaled 2276 snaps, and only allowed two QB sacks.

Strengths:

• A smooth athlete, who is light on his feet, and has great mobility and balance.
• Plays with toughness and physicality that is required for an offensive lineman.
• Is able to sustain blocks on the first, and second level.
• Finishes well as a run blocker.
• Effective communicator on pre-snap reads, and blitz pickup.
• Has elite lateral movement, is effective in space, and can drop hips to get leverage on shorter defenders.
• Has a decent pop in his initial punch on pass sets, and in run blocking.

Weaknesses:

• Has very short arms, which can be a detriment when playing tackle in the NFL.
• Bends from the waist too much, and doesn’t play with ideal power, or strength.
• Gets caught dropping his head and struggles to stay engaged, especially at the second level.
• Sometimes can heel-click in pass protection and gets overpowered by a strong bull rush when defenders get under his pads.
• Has too elevated of a strike point when getting into double teams.
• Hands tend to get grabby, and outside of the shoulders, when he is losing in the early stages of a play.

How he fits in with the Bucs:

Red hair, two front teeth knocked out, plays to, and through, the whistle. Sounds like we found Ryan Jensen’s long-lost brother. I imagine if the Tampa Bay Bucs do draft Cody Mauch, Jensen would be a great mentor for Mauch to latch onto. Mauch projects more so as a guard than a tackle in the NFL, which is similar to Jensen’s experience, as he moved from tackle to guard, and eventually found his place at center. Mauch could learn from Jensen, Leverett, Hainsey, and the rest of the o-line during his first few years as a pro and would be a good fit for Dave Canales’s run first offense in the years to come.

Mauch is a solid NFL prospect who looks to be drafted in the second, or third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Should the Bucs be interested in adding another tough guy to their offensive line? What do you think Buccaneer fans? Let me know your thoughts below!

Photo by Zach Del Bello/NCAA Photos via Getty Images