Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft kicked off on Friday night, and one of the most intriguing prospects in North Dakota State offensive lineman Cody Mauch was selected in the second round. This led many fans to rediscover his insane story of how he got to this point of becoming an NFL-caliber player.
Mauch doesn’t really look the part of an NFL offensive lineman to many fans. He certainly didn’t when he arrived at NDSU, coming to the program as a 6-foot-5, 221-pound tight end.
He received a ton of buzz at the Senior Bowl, both for his impressive play and his unreal body transformation story that fans learned.
Mauch now weighs in at 303 pounds and was moved out to offensive tackle later in his college career. Plenty of players put on weight in college intentionally for a position change.
That wasn’t the case for Mauch, who revealed in a press conference at the Senior Bowl that he gained the weight because he “fell in love” with North Dakota State’s dining plan.
“I mean honestly I was just eating,” said Mauch on his drastic weight gain. “I was probably getting 26-27 meals a week. Didn’t really plan to gain all the weight, I was just kinda hungry.”
I asked OT Cody Mauch how he gained 85 pounds after walking on at NDSU as a TE.
Long story short: He destroyed NDSU’s all-you-can-eat dining plan. And he’s a big Stromboli guy. pic.twitter.com/ccmy0B7AMW
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) February 1, 2023
Regardless of his reasoning for the weight gain, it undoubtedly worked for him. He was selected with the No. 48 pick in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Welome to Tampa Bay, @CodyTud! 😎 pic.twitter.com/w8Mo5oMUO9
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) April 29, 2023
After being selected, many fans took notice of his wild story and offered their opinion on the selection by Tampa Bay.
What a transformation by Cody Mauch 😮
The Bucs have a new big man on the offensive line 💪 pic.twitter.com/66blXUkLxd
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 29, 2023
Football smile from @Buccaneers 2nd round pick, OL Cody Mauch 👏 pic.twitter.com/WjSDvcKWYO
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) April 29, 2023
New Buccaneers OT Cody Mauch is missing his two front teeth but is 6’5 302. He’s rugged and mean and is basically a hockey player on the offensive line. Will fit in nicely with Ryan Jensen. His comp from NFL Network was Alex Cappa. pic.twitter.com/mXM1vWLO3i
— JC Cornell (@CornellNFL) April 29, 2023
Cody Mauch went from a 221 lb walk-on TE to 303 lb 2nd-round NFL OL.
He was "just kinda hungry" and ate "26 to 27 meals a week"
What a legend 😤 pic.twitter.com/lSij1IHpzG
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 29, 2023
Cody Mauch to the Buccaneers is the perfect fit pic.twitter.com/aQwt77GA4m
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) April 29, 2023
He also looks eerily similar to Buccaneers star center Ryan Jensen, which fans clearly took notice of.
The Bucs having an OL that includes both NDSU’s Cody Mauch and CSU Pueblo’s Ryan Jensen is both completely unfair and thematically appropriate. 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/twfK7G8Rm7
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) April 29, 2023
I assume Cody Mauch and Ryan Jensen are going to be friends
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) April 29, 2023
It’s obviously unclear how his career will turn out in the NFL, but the Buccaneers certainly got themselves a character with Cody Mauch.
[Tampa Bay Buccaneers] Photo Credit: ESPN
