Cody Balogh (born February 14, 1986) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. He was signed by the Bears as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2008. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Early years

Cody was first-team all-conference at

Steilacoom High School Steilacoom High School (or SHS) is a public high school in Steilacoom, Washington, United States and is part of the Steilacoom Historical School District. It is the oldest, and to date the only, high school in the school district. Prior to its ...

, in

Steilacoom, Washington Steilacoom ( ) is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,727 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Steilacoom incorporated in 1854 and became the first incorporated town in what is now the state of Washi ...

, on both offense and defense in both his junior and senior years, respectively. He was named a first-team all-state by the ''Tacoma News Tribune'' and participated in the Washington All-Star Game as a senior. He also was a two-year starter in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and played on a team that was ranked No. 2 in the state his senior year.

College career

Cody attended the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, where he was a four-year letterwinner (2004–07). He started the final 41 games of his college career. He was an honorable mention all-Big Sky as a senior, starting all 12 games, 11 while playing at left tackle, and 1 while playing at

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. He served as the Grizzlies

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

as Montana went 11–0 and won the Big Sky title. He was also selected as the Paul Weskamp Award winner, which is given annually to Montana's Outstanding Offensive Lineman. He was named a third-team All-American by

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as a junior, and started all 14 games at left tackle and was a first-team all-Big Sky selection. He also helped lead the Grizzlies to a 10–1 regular season record (only losing an away game to the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

), a Big Sky Championship, and an appearance in the National Semifinals. As a sophomore, Balogh started all 12 games helping the Grizzlies to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, but the Grizzlies fell in the first round. Balogh started the final 3 games of his freshman season, including the quarterfinal, semifinal and Division I-AA Championship Game which Montana lost, 31–21, to

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Balogh was undrafted in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. In May 2008, Balogh tried out for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in their annual rookie minicamp following the draft. After the rookie minicamp, Balogh was signed as an undrafted free agent. His arrival on the scene was considered a "nice surprise" by the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. After spending his rookie season on the practice squad, Balogh was re-signed to a future contract on December 29, 2008. Cody was waived on the September 5 cutdown to the 53 man regular season roster.

Personal

Cody is the son of Steven and Patricia Balogh. In college, he majored in health and human performance.The Missoulian
"Meet: Cody Balogh: UM's Balogh adjusts to Saturdays off" He receives frequent shout-outs on PA Exam Prep Review Podcast (See Headaches).

References

External links

Montana Grizzlies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balogh, Cody 1986 births Living people People from Steilacoom, Washington Players of American football from Pierce County, Washington American football offensive tackles Montana Grizzlies football players Chicago Bears players