Cody Mauch (born January 15, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

Early life

Mauch was born on January 15, 1999, in

Breckenridge, Minnesota Breckenridge is a city and county seat of Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,430 at the 2020 census. Breckenridge's twin city is Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND—MN Micropolitan Statistic ...

. His parents live in

Hankinson, North Dakota Hankinson is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 921 at the 2020 census. Hankinson was founded in 1886. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND– MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been ...

, where he attended Hankinson High School and played

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 ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and football. When he was in the

seventh grade Seventh grade (also 7th Grade or Grade 7) is the seventh year of formal or compulsory education. The seventh grade is typically the first or second year of middle school. In the United States, kids in seventh grade are usually around 12–13 years ...

, he lost his two front teeth while diving for a loose ball in a basketball game. He finished his high school career with 1,072 receiving yards and scored a school-record 24 touchdowns. In his senior season, Mauch had 24 catches for 474 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushed for 398 yards and four touchdowns, passed for 273 yards and four touchdowns and also had 18.5 sacks on defense in nine games. He was also named second team All-State in basketball as a senior after averaging 20 points, 15.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. Mauch committed to play

at North Dakota State and join the team as a preferred

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

over a similar offer from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

and a scholarship offer from Division II Minnesota State–Moorhead.

College career

Mauch

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman season at

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...

(NDSU) and was eventually moved from tight end to the offensive line. He played in six games as a redshirt freshman as NDSU won the 2018 FCS national championship. Mauch played in all 16 of the Bison's games during his redshirt sophomore season, appearing on special teams and also lining up at tight end in some formations to function as a sixth offensive lineman while the team repeated as national champions. Mauch became a starter in the second game of his redshirt junior season, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...

. He was named second-team All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

(MVFC). He was named first-team All-MVFC and a second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

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after starting all 15 of NDSU's games as the Bison again won the FCS national title. Mauch decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to NDSU for a sixth season. He was added to the watchlist for the 2022

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

midway through the season. Mauch graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in agricultural and biosystems engineering.

Professional career

Mauch was selected by the

in the second round, 48th overall, of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. As a rookie, he started in all 17 regular season games and both of the Buccaneers' postseason games in the 2023 season.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioNorth Dakota State Bison bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauch, Cody 1999 births Living people American football offensive tackles Players of American football from North Dakota North Dakota State Bison football players People from Richland County, North Dakota Tampa Bay Buccaneers players American people of German descent