North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch, who transitioned from a tight end to an offensive lineman in college, has been receiving a lot of positive publicity throughout Senior Bowl week.
Mauch’s hype culminated with him earning Practice Player of the Week for his position group after a dominant individual outing. Votes for this particular honor are cast by the opposing defenders that have been practicing against these linemen throughout the week.
After his consistently impressive performances these last couple of days, the former Bison star was asked if he looked to anybody for advice leading up to the event.
As you would probably expect, he shouted out fellow NDSU alum and current Tennessee Titans offensive lineman, Dillon Radunz.
“I talked to Dillon,” Mauch revealed. “Dillon was here two years ago and Practice Player of the Week, so he definitely did something right. He had some good words for me, mainly about how the week is going to go.
“He’s like ‘hey, you’re not going to get any sleep, you’ve got to know that.’ So far, that part’s right, but we’re here playing football, doing stuff with football all day, can’t be mad at that.”
NDSU OL Cody Mauch giving a little
S/O to #Titans Dillon Radunz …he also spoke about the improvement from yesterday to today’s practice #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/TgMDj5Obbp— Kayla Anderson (@KaylaAndersonTV) February 1, 2023
Similarly to Mauch, Radunz not only participated in the Senior Bowl, but by all accounts, he dominated his week down in Mobile, Alabama. On top of earning Practice Player of the Week for his position group, Radunz also earned top overall practice honors for his team back in 2021.
Naturally, Titans fans are mostly going to be reluctant to give Mauch a fair shot due to reasons outside of his control.
The disappointment surrounding Radunz’s shortcomings has soured the idea of taking another small-school lineman within the first two days of the draft.
However, you should always scout the name on the back of the jersey and not the front of it.
As of right now, the North Dakota State product is currently ranked as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-best offensive tackle and 42nd-best overall prospect regardless of position.
Consideing the trajectory he is on, barring an unforeseen setback, there’s a good chance that Mauch is trending toward becoming a Day 2 selection when it’s all said and done.
If the FCS legend proves that he’s worthy of a selection over the coming months, the Titans absolutely have to strongly consider it regardless of the negative thoughts it may trigger within the fanbase.
Only time will tell how all this plays out, but Mauch is a name that fans will be hearing a lot of as we slowly inch toward draft weekend.
