What’s Not To Like About New Bucs OL Cody Mauch?

With their second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bucs selected North Dakota State offensive lineman Cody Mauch. Coming down to Tampa, Florida, he is surely excited to have the chance to review the local Tampa Bay restaurants with his Yelp account, which is prominently featured in his Twitter profile, @CodyTud.

More than that, he will add to the toughness and energy of the team’s offensive line. Joing a unit that features Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen, Mauch will look to play alongside them wherever he fits best. He could start his career slotting between them as a guard, and he is the latest player to enter the team’s interior offensive line competition.

However, he is not seen strictly as a guard in the NFL, as he played primarily at left tackle at North Dakota State, and had a cameo at center at the Senior Bowl. This is despite not logging any time anywhere else tham left tackle college.

Bucs GM Jason Licht Had Fun Watching Cody Mauch

After watching Cody Mauch’s play in the scouting procees, general manager Jason Licht mentioned he had some fun doing so after Day 2 of the NFL Draft.

“I love it – absolutely love it,” Licht said. “[Center Ryan] Jensen has been texting ever since he took him, ‘He and I are going to mess some things up.’ He didn’t use the word mess. If you could somehow clone Jensen and [tight end] Ko Kieft together, you get Cody Mauch.

“It’s great. Who doesn’t like that? I talked about it the other day with offensive line – the guys that you have fun watching, it just so happens that we were watching him together for the 18th time. He was one that we have a lot of fun watching.”

General managers usually do not openly talk about players like this. It is clear that Licht is a big fan of Mauch, and it is easy to see why. He has a unique story of growing up on a farm, losing his two front teeth in a middle school basketball game, and working tirelessly throughout college to develop as a player.

Part of his transition was moving from tight end in high school to offensive tackle, adding the prerequisite weight to do so. Moving over to the offensive line, he has also developed some key traits that intrigued Licht and make him a scheme fit for the wide zone scheme new offensive coordinator Dave Canales will be implementing.

“His extracurricular activity when the whistle is still echoing, his pure passion for the game, his athleticism is really, really underrated – he’s a great athlete,” Licht said. “[He’s] really quick, really flexible, [has] great bend. You see when he’s going for a little shot at the end how quickly he gets up.

“He’s a great athlete. He’s a great puller, he’s great in space. He’s going to have to get a little stronger like all offensive linemen, especially coming from a smaller school – I think he was the first non-power-five player taken. We don’t see that as a limitation, we just think it’s going to make him better as we pull him along.”

Licht mentioned his pulling ability and operating in space, and his film continuously showcases this. Not only does Mauch fight to the end of the whistle, he gets up the second level to take on blocks with regularity. Pewter Report film aficionado Josh Queipo chopped up some clips of Mauch putting these skills on display.

On this play at left tackle, Mauch, who is No. 70, quickly moves over from the left to right side of the offensive line to pick up an assignment at the next level, puts his opponent on the ground, and adds a little “extracurricular” body slam to boot.

Not only can he move up-field on short notice, but his ability to keep his target in line is also another valuable trait. Here he stays with his running back on a sweep to the left side and does a nice job targeting the opposing linebacker.

Cody Mauch Ready To “Get The Job Done” With Bucs

Cody Mauch may already be one of the most popular Bucs in Tampa Bay for his appearance and outgoing personality. He is definitely someone who takes life in stride and enjoys being on the football field.

“My biggest thing is I have fun,” Mauch said. “I go out there, I get the job done and I just have fun doing it. I think that shows up on film a lot – some of the goofy antics or anything like that. I’m just a guy who was always dependable at my college and I’m just having a blast out there.”

Coming from an FCS school at North Dakota State, he certainly qualifies as a Jason Licht-type offensive lineman. In previous drafts, Ali Marpet (2015) and Alex Cappa (2018) fit the mold after attending Hobart College and Humboldt State, respectively. While each of these schools did not put them on the map, their play did. Marpet and Cappa had successful tenures as Bucs, and Mauch has the chance to do the same.

“Something about small school guys and something about guys with long, red hair – I don’t know what that is [about],” Licht laughed. “It worked out with Ryan Jensen – I’m going to come in and make that work as well. I’m excited to play next to a guy like that.”

While Licht alluded to Jensen’s excitement, and his Twitter account definitely adds to this sentiment, Mauch is excited just to be in the same offensive line room as him. Who knows, maybe they will re-enact some of these first-down signals together next season?

“Extremely excited,” Mauch said. “I’m excited to just get to know him, the way he goes about his business – a pro like that is someone you want to learn from. That’s someone you want to just be clinging to all the time. Really excited to get to know him and the rest of the guys in the room. Just excited, I guess.”

While he is excited to be joining the Bucs, what are fans going to get from Mauch on game day?

“They’re getting a guy who’s going to work hard,” Mauch said. “I’m going go out there, do my part, do what I can to help us win on Sundays in whatever capacity that looks like. I’m going to do my job and have fun doing it. I’m going to try to show that, too. I’m going to have a blast out there. Whatever needs to be done will get done on Sundays.”