Bucs Total AccessCody Mauch On North Dakota Roots & Starting in the NFL | Bucs Total Access
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You've got a block rip for forty its side, the thirty outside the Knumbers touch twenty to the fifteen ten five flush non White touched out Tama Bay. This is Buccaneers Total Access fire La Canna till Buck Play, brought to you by Hooters. Hooters the original wing joint sets nineteen eighty three, Fuble football an twod win be a little twenty fifteen ten five touched out Tampa Bay, Winfield Well the recovered fabulous Scooper's door. Now here are your co hosts, former Buccaneers tight end Cameron Braid and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips.
Welcome into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing joint since nineteen eighty three. Casey Phillips here with Cam Braid and our very special guest for the day, Cody Mout. Cody, thanks for being with us.
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
This'll be fun.
Yep again, we always say you get a lot of brownie points. You came in after a tough loss and then also a flight that is late at night. You're running out how many hours of sleep at this point not.
To me five hours.
I think, all right, that's that's not the worst I've heard, but it's not graaty. There's so thank you. We really do appreciate you taking the time. Let's just start kind of just big picture takeaways from the game, especially on the offensive side. What stands out?
You know, I think anytime we have to end up throwing the ball like forty three times, it's like, you know, something probably wasn't going great, and I don't know what it was. You just every time we get close to field goal range or something, we'd have some dumb setback, we get a sack, we'd have a holding call, and it's just kind of just shooting ourselves in the foot all game. And had a shot at the end and just I couldn't get it done.
Yeah, that's gotta be tough, Kim. What did you see looking out, especially on the offensive side, but just the game overall.
You know, I didn't think we played bad. It was just they made a couple more plays. And the thing is we just didn't make a couple of plays we needed to make. If football's funny like that, it's just you never know when those five, you know, critical plays are going to happen and what they're going to be, who they're going to involve, and it just seemed that we didn't make any of them and the Cowboys did. So, you know, it wasn't obviously the result we wanted, but it wasn't you know, some embarrassing showing or anything like that.
Yeah, and I know it's all losses are tough, but just knowing this one and the effects on where you guys stand for the playoff race now and the fact that it was such a last second, tough way to lose a game, what's the feeling after that, what's the message from coaches and just the vibe in the locker room and how you guys try to move forward from it.
Yeah. Really, it's just, you know, the thing about going into that game is like it's kind of cliche, but you know, we really did control our own destiny. We win, we kind of dictate the terms on how how the playoff race goes, and now it's kind of you just hope a couple other people lose, and it's never good when it ends up coming down to that. But it's really just coming in and attack the last two weeks and just do what we can do and then everything else will shake out how it shakes out. But yeah, that's really what it is, is just get after the Panthers this week.
Yeah, and for you, how'd you feel like your game was?
I thought it was all right.
I mean it's always I was better, we can do run, game was going a little bit, we had to get away, go to the past game and that we protected.
Well for the moment part.
Just there's always those couple pressures, those couple one on ones you'd maybe like back, and I think you're always going to have that.
Yeah, especially with pass pro. What were some of the things you feel like you guys were doing well, things that maybe could have been a little bit different in that area. That's a tough front that you're going against with.
The Yeah, No, they were. They were really good, and they pressure. They did a great job of just bringing one extra guy then we could block or making it seem like this guy was coming and they bring it from the other side. And just I thought we were, you know, pretty dialed with all the pressures. It was just maybe straying a little bit longer, maybe give Baker the ability to step up in the pocket a little bit more, and you just little things like that. But all in all, you know, I thought I thought it was it was all right, all.
Right, I like that's the official grade, is all right? Yeah, yeah, I know Baker ended up having forty two rushing yards and over three hundred passing. And then also I saw, you know, he ends up being the one to recover a fumble down there, which is his first one of the season. I was just thinking about how often we're seeing him do these things downfield too, where he's in positions to recover fumbles, he's throwing blocks downfield, and I'd love to know for you as an offensive line with what it's like watching him make some of those plays that are the you don't expect out of a quarterback at all. It's not a given, but what that's like when you see that.
Yeah, it's electric when you see it, Like the one the recovery that he had the Cowboys game there, it was like I'm just kind of you know, block in and then all of a sudden, the ball comes out and Baker just comes up out of nowhere and just recovering it. It's like he just it's so good at being around the ball. Even you know, he's the one throwing it. In most quarterbacks, you're just gonna sit back there and all right, let's go get the next play, get ready to go. But he just he finishes around the ball better than most people. That better than we do.
And like you.
Said, like that like the Panthers, when he that block he threw on Bucki's run, Like, how is that not the most electric thing when your quarterback sixty five yards downfield throwing blocks for your running back.
It's just it gets us going even more?
How do you evaluate the blocking technique here? You know, if we were going to be a film session with Baker.
It was good. Probably could throw her hands a little bit more. He just kind of threw a shoulder in there. But I mean he got the job done.
Yes, that's all that matters.
You don't want to direct the guy where to go? No, yeah, d like the running back knows where you just go.
You go blocking get the guy?
You do you It is so funny that Baker has multiple fumble recoveries downfield this year. Coaches always say follow.
The ball and don't typically mean the quarterback.
Right, He's truly the only quarterback that actually follows the ball.
Oh yeah, that's wild and Cam, what did you see from Baker's performance in this game, especially here in those stats of kind of being responsible for so much of the offense they're both you doing with the legs and the arm.
Yeah, I mean, I love watching Baker run the ball. He's so determined running, you know, maybe not the fastest quarterback in the league, but effective, very effective and definitely doesn't love to slide. You can tell, like he gets he gets fired up when he has a chance to lower the shoulder. It's probably not always the wisest move, but yeah, he's just a football player. He did a you know, great job moving the ball yesterday. Just like Cody said, it was just like a couple of plays here and there you just wish to have back, you know, whether it's offensive line straining for another second or you know, a couple passes here and there that you know, hopefully the receivers come up with that just didn't happen yesterday.
I'm talking to Cambrayton, Cody malk and for you, Cody, what has it been like to play with Baker that? I mean, he's the only guy you've you've known here in the NFL now and to learn over these years, what it's like, and especially how different he is compared to some other quarterbacks.
Yeah, I mean, like you say, he's the only quarterback I've had in the league, and I mean I wouldn't want anyone else.
Like he's just the way.
I don't know, but I would assume most quarterbacks don't spend as much time with their offensive line. I mean, he's coming out with us to eat every Thursday. We're always hanging out with him in the locker room, off the field, like just a little things like that. It's it's great, Like how do you not want to play for a quarterback who like puts so much time in with you guys, and it just makes you want to do the little things a little bit more for him. And kind of leader he is, Like I could say so many good things about Bakery.
We all love them.
That's awesome. And I know this was a wild stat I learned. So we now have twelve scrimmage touchdowns from rookies this season, which is the most among all NFL teams because Bucky has seven and Jalen now has five, So Bucky is first among rookies in touchdowns. Jalen's tied for third in the receiving part of it. So Cam tell me how amazing it is that these two guys as rookies are contributing the way they are, and just how that's not a given to have guys doing it at that kind of a level.
This really right. I mean, we talked about Bucky a lot this year, just how electric he is with the ball, you know, and just a fun running back. I'm sure to block four because you don't really have to block everyone every single time. He's going to find a way to get some extra yards make a guy miss. But Jalen's progression throughout, especially the past month, you can just see his confidence growing. He's always been an effective route runner, but it's just kind of the little nuances. It seems like he's under standing coverages and how to like set guys up little bit better. And you know, obviously with Chris out, he's kind of assumed that number two role now and he's just done a great job.
Yeah, And what is it like to block for Bucky And what are some of the first times you realized that, oh this this might be pretty fun here.
Oh yeah, he is just you gotta just be on your toes, You gotta hold your blocks a little bit longer, because I remember I think it was one against the Broncos. You know, he's going wide out to the left and I'm just kind of keep my guy in the middle of the field. All of a sudden, he makes this guy miss, starts cutting it back to the middle of the field, and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm in this play. I got it. Just hold a little bit longer, and he just he very rarely gets tackled by the first person. I mean, he just does such a good job in space making guys miss. It's it's electric the way he runs it. It's just it's so much fun.
To block for.
And speaking of electric, Mike Evan's still electric. Every dang game there's something he does. I was thinking about that twenty six yard early in the game where just almost his fingertip catch and Cam, what were your thoughts when you watched that play.
I mean, he got up like you didn't catch it, so bazarre. He was telling everyone to like, get to live scrimmage, hurry up, and it was just the clean his catch.
If that isn't Mike of just somehow still assuming like, oh, I probably didn't do that.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, anytime you get Mike one on one, Baker's salvating at that opportunity, just going to get the ball up to Mike and he's gonna come down with it. Yeah, it was just unfortunate. You know, we couldn't get the ball to him a little bit more in the second half, but obviously he was kind of their focal point.
On defense, and we know we were gonna be without Caid this for the first time this season, and we saw Paine Durham step in take a lot of his reps. So, mister tight end representative here, tell us, ay, just what it's like for this offense to be missing kid with how much he is a part of it, of playing ninety billion snaps every game, and then watching Pain step into that spot.
Yeah, it was great to watch Pain yesterday. Did a great job stepping in. You know, I've gotten to know him over the past couple of years, but you know, Caid plays so much. Pain really hasn't had the opportunity to play a ton, But just to see him kind of go on and catch some passes, see what he can do, you can tell he has a really good feel, uh finding zones. Coming back to the quarterback for the ball. I gotta work on the ball security a little bit, you know, to Baker's recovery. But good to see him out there. Great to see Co get a little bit more work. You know. He went out for a pass I think the first time this year, didn't.
Get the ball.
Big team gave the ball to code show.
I'm on board.
Yeah, but we all right, so we put him a bunch at full back this pass game, thinking maybe full back dive coming up for him.
We would love to put it in. Yeah, this is what I think.
I think we need even something where maybe you and Co both somehow get involved in this that it's like the play call is like ginger something, and like the two of you are just really coming down here to be a part of this play.
I think. So, I mean I would sign up for that one. Yeah, So I think I think we should do something about that.
I think that we need to make that happen.
His stat line in high.
School, Oh yeah, Oh it's wild. We'll get to that. Don't you worry. Don't you worry. It is pretty incredible. And that's why I'm like, I think that we need to somehow find a way to get both these guys involved here also, Ryan miller Man, this guy's had to step up in some pretty big moments. Cody, what was it like out there of the reaction when you guys saw that he was able to catch that touchdown and felt like you put you guys back in a position to still be in it there late.
No, it was awesome. I mean it was at the right time. It was exactly what we needed at the time. Ryan, You know, he does such a good job in there, especially with the run game.
You know, he really stepped up a lot this year.
Really an extension of the offensive line is what he's been this year, you know, going and digging out the nickel or safeties who come down, like he does such a good job with that that it was good that we could you know, find him and get him a touchdown too, because, like I said, how much work that he does that probably goes under the radar for most people. Good for him to get a touchdown, especially at that at that point in the game.
And I know we also saw ya Yanklijah shaer A Sak tell me about just the idea of your rookie class and watching you guys be able to be such a big part of it now this year as well.
Yeah, those two are just they're so fun to watch. I mean, they're both just such good players. Having to go against colle all the time in training camp, it's fun to watch him out there against other guys.
Please do this to someone else.
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah too. I mean you just look at him, guys a freaking nature. It's so fun to watch them out there just terrorized quarterbacks and tackles and guards. They've been having a great year, coming along great and it's gonna be fun to watch for years to come.
Someone else, I'm imagining you love watching it happen to somebody else's Vita. Gosh, tell me first of all our thoughts on watching him have the chance to maybe kill someone and then just decide I'm gonna instead just politely set you on the ground instead of killing you. I feel like Vida had the chance to just he was just wreaking havoc in that game.
Yeah, he is.
I don't even know what to say.
I mean, when you're blocking him in like training camp, it's just like, just get my hands in and just just pray, just sit here and just lose slowly because he's just so strong, powerful. Yeah, I mean that's really what it is. That's honestly, a lot of the times the coaching point is just get in, just anchor as best you can and just just hold on.
I mean that's about all you can do.
And yeah, he's just such a strong, explosive dude and athletic too for how big he is. I mean, he just he moves really well for being as big as he is.
Some I'm dropping coverage that one play and then come out of nowhere to make its open field tackle.
And it wasn't there that. I mean, that was a huge play. It was like the third down. Yeah, through a little ball of flat to Jake Ferguson. Vita was on the other side too. He came across and if it's anyone else that is, if that's a dB, like he's falling forward and getting the first down and the game is over. Bucks sunk at the ball back. Yeah, I love watching Vita runn coverage.
It's great.
But I mean, when Vita is healthy, he's truly unblockable. And really the past couple months we've had the opportunity to see that, and like, I cannot imagine being a center the night before the game, just like laying in bed thinking about having to go up against Vita the next day because you need four hands on him every single play.
Yeah, it's wild. All right, We're gonna take a quick break here on Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing Joints since nineteen eighty three. This is Buccaneers Radio Bucketeers.
Total Access continues, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing joint since nineteen eighty three. Once again, back to your co host, Cameron Braid and Casey Phillips.
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing Joints since nineteen eighty three. Casey Phillips here with Cam Braid and our special guest Cody Mauk. And I'm so excited to dive into all things Cody. I'm like, there's so much here to talk about. First of all, tell me about the town you grew up in. Tell me a little bit about the size of it, what it was like, and how North Dakota was it.
Oh, I feel like it was about as North Dakota as you can get. It's really small town in southeast North Dakota. You know, ten miles from the Minnesota border, ten miles from the South Dakota border, So just right down there, tucked in there, nine hundred people. I grew up with our in my hometown, just just small town through and through. You know. Our school in town was K through twelve. We're all in one building. There's three hundred and twenty people in the entire school, eighteen kids in my in my class. It's just it's it's crazy when you talk to everyone else about you know, most people have three hundred people in their class. And so it was just this small town feel.
I loved it though.
It was great.
I wouldn't change anything about it.
I love it. And you're from and it was a farm you grew up on as well, right.
Yep, yep we farmed yep, yeah, still do.
But still do what were you guys? Find? Farm?
We farm corn, soybeans, edible beans, and sugar beets.
So did you grow up like I'm assuming, like working on the farm that this is oh yeah, yeah? How early is this the thing you start doing?
Well? You start going to work with dad when you're six years old, start sweeping the shop and all that kind of stuff, and then graduate on to being an eight year old driving a tractor around. Oh I got some just crazy farm stories about crashing a couple of tractors before. Oh yeah, and some just good stories of that. But yeah, you're you're driving that age not you're driving tractor before you can drive a vehicle. You know, they're easier to drive than a car is. So yeah, just growing up doing that, it was it was great.
And you are how many kids in this family?
There are eight? Eight of us eight kids?
Y'all were like almost one percent of the population of your town.
I really were, you really were. It's free farm help.
That's probably what my dad and mom were saying. You know, it's eight kids. You can go work on the farm.
Yeah, that's incredible. And so you're the where are you at in.
This I'm the second oldest, older brother and then.
Me, Okay, how big of the age span is this for this many kids?
It is My brother is twenty seven and then the youngest is nine. Wow, yeah, big spread, Yeah it is yeah all you guys big yeah. My brother is my brother's you know six two or six three. Both my sisters right below me are They were really good athletes in high school and the two younger boys. I think they'll grow up and be a little bit a little bit bigger too, which is good.
And yeah, just big family corn fit.
That's what I was going to say, the literal corn Fred. Absolutely, And do you think you have an accent?
I don't think so most of the time, but I can definitely hear it in a lot of words.
But do you notice it pretty easily?
Yeah?
Yeah, okay, yeah, okay, it's endearing.
Yeah, I feel like I can trust you.
Yeah, there you go.
Do you do the if you're gonna about to run into someone in the hallway?
Yeah?
Absolutely.
I imagine you say it while you're out there blocking something. I'm like, oh sorry, sorry. So now we get to talk about what Cam brought up earlier, your high school stat line and all the positions you played, which now also hearing how few people were in this town, this also makes more sense. Yeah, tell me about high school football, Cody.
Yeah, Well, we, like I said, really small town. So we played we played nine man football in high school.
So so what two positions are gone?
Both tackles are gone and the defense you're just missing a d lineman and a linebacker.
Okay, so.
But we you know, a lot of a lot of the nine man schools in different states will play on a smaller field. We played on a typical eleven man field, which was nice because you get one good quick back, you're probably gonna make it to the playoffs. It's all you need. Just get get out on the edge and go. But I didn't have a lot of kids my senior year. I think we had seventeen kids on our team, so we couldn't even go nine on nine in practice. We had to have coaches step in or a trash can out there somewhere. And you kind of do have to play every position. I was the tight end, d N kicker, backup, quarterback, going there at running back like you really just everyone kind of has to do everything, and it was great. I mean getting involved and actually being able to catch the ball and throw the ball a little bit.
It was fun. Don't get do that anymore.
So sad, yeah, but look he got to experience it all these other line when we been on they want it so bad and listen to this. What do you think you were best at of all those positions in high school?
I would say probably tight end.
I mean I would you know, just get get split out wide and again, small town.
I'm six ' five, a lot.
Of these other kids are, you know, it's five eight, five nine corners. So it's like, let's just let's just take a shot because we have the numbers on our side here, and so that was what we did a lot of the time. Yeah.
So you finished high school with over one thousand receiving yards, school record, twenty four touchdowns, school record sacks in a season and career. I have never said those things back to back, school record of touchdowns and sacks. That's incredible.
He threw for like five hundred yards and a few touchdowns too.
Yeah, that was the best was you know, our quarterback went down for a couple of games senior year and I got to step in there and play some quarterback and probably wasn't too pretty, but it was fun. That was That was the most fun I've ever had right there, when I got to play quarterback.
It's crazy we're talking to Cody Mouk. How much of this have you brought up to Liam Cohen.
I haven't. I haven't done it yet, which is completely on me. We got to get some kind of.
Guard throw to a tackle.
It just something so hard with the guard though you really limited what you can do.
Yeah, just tell Luke to sit out one playing throw you out there. He's done guard things, you've done tackle things.
Just well, a couple of players, we'll just switch and see what.
It might give it away.
We should just stick with what we're doing.
Now works well.
Also, you were you played basketball thrower. You did a bunch of other things as well as football.
Right, Yes, I did, you know, pretty much whatever sport was offer at the time I was doing it. I did summer baseball, spring baseball, basketball, football, I did throwing, a track, and I did golf a couple of years too, just to get out of school. But I was terrible golfer, but I did golf a couple of years amazing.
And then also, I mean you, yeah, you were all conference and region and basketball, qualified for state as a throw and track all these things. So then tell me about how you end up going to North Dakota State of like this process of I mean I imagine trying to scout him and it's like they're watching him play every position known to man. How did that go of trying to get you scouted to colleges?
Well, it was I didn't really wasn't heavily cruit at all.
I was just I was really just a tall kid, tall skinny kid at two hundred and fifteen pound tight end in small town North Dakota and didn't have any offers. I had a couple of D two offers. That was the biggest I had. And you know, it was always the dream to go play for NDSU. That's kind of the that's the NFL team up there in North Dakota. Like if you can go play at NDSU, your life you're good.
Like that's the goal right there.
And so I was able to walk on there and I'm like, okay, good, I'll go. And I expected to be a practice player for five years and go back and start farming.
And it turned into something pretty fun.
Yeah, it seems like it did pretty well. I also love that you brought up the weight. I brought a visual aid here.
Good, Oh, let's go.
So we have a graphic for our for our radio listeners. I will describe this to you. It is Cody in twenty seventeen and then in twenty twenty two, and it's the comparison of the weight. And then this just went very viral when you were playing in this game where everyone was like, what happened to this human of like the teeth, the hair, the weight. I mean this you would not if you were on the fbis most wanted. No one's recognizing always, yeah, clearly tell me, first of all, the weight. How we went from two twenty one to three oh three in five years?
Here? I it was. It was really you know, again coming back to the small town thing. We didn't really have much of a weight program or lift weights, so it was a very raw two twenty and I got to college as a tight.
End and you know, you're on the program.
The I was on the seafood diet, seafood eat food diet, and it is one of those one to two pounds a week, just see how much you can gain. Get up there. And one to two pounds a week turned into seventy pounds in a year.
I'm up to, you know, to seventy and.
They're like, you're gonna end up playing tackle and I'm like, no way, Like I'm not, I don't want to do that. But uh bought into it, and just the weight just kind of kept coming a little bit and hit a couple of roll blocks on the way.
It's tough to gain ninety pounds and keep all that weight.
But weightsticking now Yeah, now we've got to sort it out.
We're good. Yeah.
Did I hear that you had to buy like the unlimited plan at the dining hall when you didn't originally to try to like work.
On this I did. Yeah, it was you know, again, wasn't a scholarship guy. So I had to pay for the unlimited food plan because that's what they kind of made us do as freshmen there. And yeah, you have to get I think it was fifteen meals a week and I was probably clocking twenty five twenty six meals a week. And you had a good lot of good memories at the dining hall in North Dakota State.
I mean they saw Cody walking though, and they were like, oh no.
Yeah, I got my money's worth, that's for sure.
Yeah, it's very true. And then, of course, the other thing that everybody talks about in the difference of these pictures, the teeth is become the signature thing. Yeah, you and Michael's trehand some of the most famous teeth out there. Tell everyone the story of how you lost them.
Well, we were playing it was it was a middle school. I think it was a seventh grader in a basketball game, the conference championship, seventh grade. It was it was electric for a loose ball, and so was one of my teammates and we just kind of my face right at the top of his head and teeth were all janky in there or whatever, blood everywhere. Had to go to the er. They pulled out the two teeth, and the next three days I was a huge duck you know. It was so swollen. I had a huge duck lip. It was just I was really embarrassed at the time. I wanted the teeth fixed so bad, but I was a growing kid. You can't really put implants it until your jaw stops growing. So it was like, well, you're twelve years old. You can't do it till you're eighteen. So it was countless retainers and fake teeth, and again, I'm a twelve year old kid with retainers.
I broke it.
Every three weeks and my mom was like, this is you gotta do something about this, And we're spending so much money on just fake teeth, and at some point it's like it just doesn't just We're good.
I don't need it. I don't need to even worry about the teeth anymore.
And yeah, I think in that picture it was I was wearing the fake teeth all the time there, and some point you just stopped caring about how you I mean, look at how I look.
You can't really care about how you look? You know, that's.
Dude, majestic, majestic ginger. It's such a good look. I love the signature thing. I feel like it. Also. It's like I remember telling our offensive line coach at the time when you were eligible to be drafted, I was like, we have to draft him. I literally only knew the picture of you all, you know. It was like, this is all you need to know about this man. It's the most on brand offensive lineman thing I've ever seen. And I love that. It was about you not being done growing. Do you feel like, now are we good? We maybe get the tea?
I would think so we probably could, but at this point.
It signature Well, most importantly, you have a fiance. How does she feel? I mean, you got her to say yes to marriage without them, so now it's like, hey, that's.
She signed up, So I'm good. I don't have to impress anyone anymore. So as long as she's okay with the no front teeth, which she says.
She is including for the wedding.
Including the wedding.
I love what we're good.
I love that the wedding pictures will be no frontier.
I feel like you kind of use your front teeth for some things, right, Yeah.
Like apples.
Yeah, Oh, apples are hilarious because take a bite of an apple and it just looks like a smiley face. But it's hard to eat. I can't really eat corn on the cob. I have to shove it on the side.
Of my mouth.
Corn far Yeah.
Still do it, still do. It's messy and wings are really hard. But man, she's got to make a plague, got it?
How many times have people said do you? All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.
All the time? So we just had her online Christmas and Ben Brettison that was his gift for me was all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth Christmas sweater and so I'll be rocking that this Christmas.
That's a great gift. Shout to Ben.
Yeah, it's a good one.
Good gift. Also, I know you like as we talked about you, but fiance were you more nervous to propose or for your first NFL start.
I was super nervous to propose.
I don't know what the thing is about that, Like obviously I knew she was going to say yes, but we were driving thirty minutes to the place I was going to propose, and I'm like, I forget how to talk to her, Like what do I say? Like, oh, it was it was like juwe I think it was July and weather's pretty nice.
Like I just didn't know how to talk to her.
And I was just shaking the entire time when I was on a pontoon boat and I just I just freezing up. I had a whole speech lined up what I was gonna say to her.
All that and.
Will you larrying me? It just kind of blurted out, and it's like, why can't I do this?
What?
So?
Yeah, pretty nervous.
That's incredible. Also, you're write a vote for Pagro shirt, which I really appreciate. Did I also hear there's a chance you did a performance of Napoleon Dynamite at some point.
I did, Yeah, sixth grade talent show, I did the I did the Napoleon.
Dime just leaned. I love your guy that leans into things.
Yeah, I love that.
You're like, I'm a redhead this movie, this is.
Gotta do it. No, I had the whole outfit on. I had the had some moon boots on. It was a pair of just my cousin's ugs, That's what it was. But No, I practiced that for two months at night, just watching the dance and try to do it the best I could.
And it's out there on YouTube somewhere.
Oh now find I still do it.
No shot, No, I don't even think I could do it. At the time. It was.
It was a lot to remember.
It's great.
Did you have to do a rookie song?
Uh?
Yeah I did? And what was that I did? Ain't no mountain high enough?
That's great?
Yeah, that was.
I should have been the Nippoleon DYNAMI. Dan should have relearned it. That would have been pretty good. But that's It's a.
Lot of work for a rookie in training area.
Yeah, you got a line that matter a playbook, let me see. Yeah, Yeah, that's incredible. All right, We're gonna take a quick break here on Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by Hooters. The originaling joints since nineteen eighty three. This is the Buccaneers Radio.
Buccaneteers Total Access continues, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing joint since nineteen eighty three. Once again, back to your co host Cameron Braid and Casey Phillips.
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by Hooters, the original ing joints since nineteen eighty three. Casey Phillips here with Cambraid and our special guest Cody Mauk. And we were talking a little bit about your transition to college. But you've had to do the moving positions thing a few times of not just in high school playing everything under the sun, but once you got there in the whole tackle guard right left. Take us through some of the challenges of that and what you have learned of being able to make these shifts and transitions.
Yeah, I mean, like you said, I kind of started with high school. You kind of have to play all these different positions. You're playing both sides of the ball every snap. And I came into college as a tight end.
I did that for you know.
The first year and the first spring ball and then they flip me over to tackle so it's a completely new position to learn and a hard one at that. I've never really had to you know, pass block, go backwards while guys are.
Coming at me too.
So that was a bit of a transition period. And kind of flipping from right to left side in college and then played the last three years at left tackle.
You know, felt like I had that down pretty good.
And then now you get to the NFL and they want you to play not only right on the right side, but right guard.
So that was a that was a big transition.
It took a lot of the first OTA's training camp, honestly the whole season to really get that down.
And it just takes a.
Lot of reps to be able to do that. And it's all position changes are always tough, but if you just lean into it, I mean, it makes it a little bit easier.
I know, you said, Cam when he walked in, you were talking about just what growth you've seen, like in Cody, even for you just watching him these last two years. You know, what did you notice about just the way it's it's shifted for.
Him, right, It's like two different players, right, and it just takes time getting comfortable. It's totally different. Like skill set required, the guys you're going up against are totally different in terms of how they're attacking you. And yeah, it's just been awesome to watch this year. He's kind of always you could tell he's like very athletic for an offensive lineman, like getting him out in space, he's definitely more comfortable there. But just upper body strength and striking with the hands have just improved so much, and it's it's paid dividends for running the ball on offense, like running to the right side with him and Luke, like, it's gone pretty well so far this year, especially on a lot of the gap runs. So yeah, it's just been great to see the growth that you've had. Yeah, from year one to year two.
Yeah, I mean how how different did that feel for you and when and do you now feel like you're just like cool, I'm good, like I've got this.
Yeah, I mean, just so much more comfortable now.
It was the whole part of the transition last year was you know, especially past pro wise, you do three years at left tackle and you know you're so used to throwing your outside hand in your left hand and now you're on the right side at guard and everything happens so much faster. It's it was just it was so dumb because it'd be like, I know what I want to do, but my body just wouldn't do it last year. So finally it got after a little bit in the off season and figured some things out. And the biggest thing is just inside you can throw your hands. You got a way better shot already. So I finally started to figure that out a little bit.
My body was.
Finally listening to my head a little bit, and yeah, it's been it's just a lot more comfortable and more confident.
Now, when did you know you had a shot at the NFL.
I really didn't until probably after my first year starting. I figured I could, you know, go in and maybe a UDFA or late round.
Guy, this could be fine, just give this a try.
And then as college went on, I started playing a lot better and figured I could, you know, maybe make a little bit of a run of this.
That's wild. And then for you playing next to Luke, tell me what that's like, the one who is constantly, the one getting in fights.
All the time.
It's uh, it's it takes it takes a bit to get used to. Last year, Luke's a guy. He's he's not afraid to tell you what he's feeling, which is great. I mean, he just it takes a bit to get used to playing next to him. I love it. I love it so much. He's I wouldn't want to play next to anyone else. He's just as a football player obviously, I mean you're talking about the gap scheme runs, it's it makes it so much easier when all you have to do is just kind of hold the guy and then Luke's gonna come and just Luke does all the work on that I'm not doing anything. So he makes it pretty easy. And just after two years now playing with him, you just you get such a better feel of how he's gonna, how he's setting, how he's how we're doing on combos. Just you get that feel. And that's all the football side, but it's so fun. He's just such a character that it's always entertaining playing with him, never boring.
So sitting with you now, you're you're pretty well spoken, you know, introspective, you know, very interesting to talk to, whereas like not that Luke's not. But I feel like when Luke's on the field, you know, he's like Luke football. Is there much of a dialogue between you guys during the game.
Yeah, they're there. You know, we're talking about what we're talking about, what's going on in the game, what he's seeing, what I'm seeing, how we're feeling and all that. But there's also he's he's he's doing a better job. And it's not always just like loop Lou bluck guy.
He's not just grunting back. He's talking.
Yeah, we're talking.
We're having a good dialogue. We're you know, the smell light out there.
Oh yeah, even after the smell the smellies have to wear off a little bit for him. He's pretty full go once the smelly's hit. So but no, it's good. The dialogue's fun. We keep it light and fun out there too, which which is good to kind of stay levelheaded as a game's going on.
What was the harder transition position or North Dakota to Florida.
I'd say position, but the whole North Dakota to Tampa thing is definitely a transition. I mean, it's those training camps are so hot right now. I looked, I think it's I think it's a negative six back home, they just have been getting snow every day the last week. I don't really miss that. I missed the snow, but I don't miss negative weather. And just if you're outside for ten minutes, you're you're gonna freeze your face off. Yeah, so I don't really miss that, but we like it here.
It's fun when it's like forty in the morning here. Are you like it's cold out or is it like has your blood thinned?
Blood has stinned a little bit starting, but it's still you know, we went back for the bye week and it was it was like forty degrees and we're like, this is pretty chilly, and everyone else is walking around in shorts and a sweatshirt. So definitely definitely blood stanned out. But you don't really you don't really lose the the northern blood, I guess. Yeah, it's not as thin as probably.
Most Wait a couple of years. Yeah you want to go back, But yeah, does your hometown do people think yourself?
Now? Yeah? They do. I get a lot of I get made fun of a lot for that.
Yeah, how are you like I imagine like the Golden Boy, like the famous one of this town. Is this accurate? I like having an NFL player and this.
It doesn't happen.
Yeah, ever, up there, I mean, there's probably a handful of guys who's who've ever made the league from North Dakota. So uh, it's pretty cool. They they support me very well back home, which is really cool.
It's very sweet. How much sunscreen did you have to learn to use? How How bad were some of the early sunburns?
Really bad, really bad.
I remember when I first got here, we went out and played pick a ball, and I'm like, it's not too sunny. I don't, I don't. I did. Actually, I put on a code of sunscreen. I'm like, this will last, you know, two hours or whatever.
No, I was fried.
Like, okay, I pretty much just carry a thing of suns into my back pocket all the time now because very very pale skin as you can see.
So, yeah, you were not built for the flaw, not at all. No, it's amazing. What were some of the biggest things for you that you felt like you wanted to work on from last year and that you've already seen like this year of just the growth, not we kind of talked about like the mental side even, but just some of the x's and o's of it where you can see like if you were to look at film from last year and this year, are you like I did what I set out to do?
Yeah?
For sure.
My biggest thing was struggled a little bit last year with some of the more powerful, you know, bull rush type guys, So that was a big focal point.
Was putting on a little bit more weight.
But the main thing is just just getting stronger lower body wise, which has helped so much, just with an anchor and all that, and getting a little bit more movement in the run game. That was really the biggest change I wanted to make. And then also just throwing my hands more in pass pro, like we said, that just made a world of difference. So those were really the two focal points I had, and I thought I hit him you know, pretty well in the off season, So it's it's been a little bit better this year.
Yeah. Coach Bowles has definitely sung your praises a lot, which is not a thing he does just all the time to all the people. And how cool is it to hear just the way that like coaches talk about you and the way that just even the offensive line, you guys have gotten so much credit this year, the run game, everything like that, what has that been like to be a part of that and to see that everyone is so excited about what you guys are doing when you're a group that doesn't always get that kind of accolade.
Yeah, no, it's it's great. I mean, you know, you're never really looking for any glory or anything. But if you just start really focus on doing the little things here and there, and if you just do the little things all the time, the praises will kind of call my guest. You know, that's obviously not what we do it for. But if you just kind of just go on and do your job, it's nice to hear, you know, coaches giving you a little shout out, and coaches don't do that a lot. So whenever you can get whenever you can get a little pad in the back, yet to take it.
Yeah, and how about playing next to Graham as a rookie that, I mean, another guy who I'm sure you can empathize with of having to do the new position as a rookie, big transition. How he's handled it and have you been trying to kind of help him along as well in that front?
Yeah, big time. We just we were just talking about it. I think Saturday morning, just about the transition that it is. He was the same thing, you know, coming and playing a new position, and especially playing center. You know, mentally it's probably the biggest change because you're controlling everything out there, and if he's off with a mic pointer or if he doesn't you know, read things the right way, we're all kind of thrown off. And that's the biggest thing I think with Graham. He did a good job of it from the beginning, but just very regular does he make mistakes or miss IDs or anything like that. So that's the biggest thing is when you have a center who really knows what's going on and can get us all on the right in the right call or right blocking schemes and combinations, that's where the play starts. And just as a player, you know, he was kind of saying the same thing, just the things about power, realizing how much quicker things get on you inside, especially at center. But he's been he's been playing I mean, he's playing Worlds better than I did last year. So it's been really it's been really fun to play with him.
What's it like for you Cam to watch this offensive line and the way that they've grown and jelled and having just watched the Bucks for so many years now and again struggles in the run game, and the way that this group has jelled together, and especially this interior group now with Cody and Graham and there.
Yeah, I mean you just see it. The way that they're able to protect Baker. You can see in the stats running the football and very versatile as a group. Right, it's not just you know, a few years ago we just did a lot of man blocking, a lot of like simple gap runs without polers, and then last year kind of introduced some more zone schemes, and then this year kind of just open the floodgates. Can kind of do everything reversus different guys pulling from different spots, and you know, I'm sure that makes it more fun as opposed to just going straight forward right into the guy. Just switching up the looks for the guys on the offensive line attacking from different angles. And you can only do that if one everyone's on the same page and two you have the athletes to do that.
Yeah. And for you, Cody, how would you explain the success y'all have had if you look at specifically the run game and then even just thinking about Liam Cohen's scheme, the guys you have on the line, if you were just to kind of explain all the reasons why in your mind this has been the year that it's been such a dramatic shift and it clicking. Yeah.
I think the biggest thing is, you know, Liam, excuse me, Liam. You know we're not just lining up and running mid zone or wide zone. We're having motions pre snap, motions at the snap. Oof.
That was the most burthern thing I've ever heard in my life. I'm so glad that so we could hear that reaction.
But no, he just and and I think with the offensive line that we have, with the tight ends we have, with the backs we have, we're able to do more than just you know, one gap scheme or wide zone or mid zone, and he just he calls them all at the right time, just mixed everything up and plays well into our skill set. But again, it all goes back to it's so much for defenses to see when you have a guy motioning here, tight end bashing here, and just all those different things.
It's a lot on the defense that it.
Really it sets up those reverses and then well they have to play for that and it's it's we all really love Liam's offense.
That's great, and it seems like you guys also just you guys all seem to really like each other and gel really well. And how I feel like we hear that a lot about the offensive line of like, oh, chemistry is so important, but I feel like this group has taken that to another level. Does it feel like that does make as big of a difference as it seems on the field.
I really think so.
I mean, it's it's something you don't really even like feel, but when you're that close with all of the you know, the four other linemen that are in there and all of the linemen too, just as a room, you don't really like feel it or see it, but it's there, you know, just just being that close with guys knowing football wise, kind of knowing how they're going to play and whatnot. But especially just I don't know, when you can mesh that well as a room, like with the guys, it just seems.
To click a little bit more.
And it's it's really paid its dividends this year so far.
All right, We're gonna take one more break here on Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by Hooters, the original Wing Joints since nineteen eighty three. This is Buccaneers Radio.
Buccaneers Total Access Continues, brought to you by Hooters, the original Wing.
Joints since nineteen eighty three.
Once again, you're a co host Cameron Braid and Casey Phillips.
Casey Phillips here with Cam Brad and Cody Mauk. All right, So we always like to give players a chance to say what they hate that the other side of the ball does. So this is your chance to rant about defensive players and what they do. Oh gosh, everyone always seems overwhelmed by this question.
Thirty friendly. I feel it's true.
The Northerner inem is like, ah, they're all.
They are all good. Yeah, I know. My biggest gripe is always if we're going you know, if we're in like a walk through tempo or two step or something like that, it's like they always gotta get the guys gonna go a little bit more.
It's like, all right, guys, like, let's just who's the biggest defender.
Yeah yeah, gotta yeah, yeah. But if that's what he has to do to play as well as he does, I mean, we're all right with that.
The Northerner took over. He's like, I'll tell you, but then I'm gonna let it be okay. I'm gonna tell you all the reasons. It's fine. That's really funny.
All right.
How about some players that you love to watch.
I like to watch Chris Linstrom with the Falcons. He's uh so good. It's just I just want to be able to do.
Some of those things. He's really fun to watch. He's amazing.
I mean, we just watched so much of their film since they're in the division. But also when you pull up some old like Zach Martin clips like one of the best to do it at right guard, So he's he's really fun to watch. But those are probably two of the main guys.
Kim, who are the people that you tried to watch and learn from?
It's a great question. I mean different I couldn't do what he could do, But like I loved watching Travis Kelsey. Yeah, I mean he was really fun to watch the way they incorporated him, Like he's not quite the same player he was five years ago, but he's still really effective. Greg Olsen, I grew up a huge Bears fan, so like going to play against Greg when he was in Carolina. I always thought that was pretty cool. And then my first coach here, he coached Tony Gonzalez, so he'd when he was with Kansas City, so he'd bust out that old tape. And it's amazing how far the technology has come. If you watch film from like fifteen years ago, it is truly unwatchable, like you can't see anything, and now it's so good. Like I always thought, like twenty years ago would be great to play because you couldn't tell really if you messed up. Like right now, every single thing gets like looked at under a microscope, fine fine tooth comb. But like even like fifteen years ago before it got HD so grainy, you don't really see anything. You couldn't get away with so much. That wasn't me, Yeah that was him.
That's funny. Well, you mentioned so you were all excited to play against Greg Olson. Have you had like a starstruck moment yet, Cody?
You know last year we played the Eagles twice. Just going up against Fletcher Cox was pretty crazy, wasn't fun I mean, he's unreal, Thank goodness he retired, but yeah he was. That was one of those things where you grew I mean he played what twelve thirteen, fourteen years so you grow up watching that. My brother was a huge Eagles fan, so we always had those games on, you know, So you played against him and blocked him. Was pretty cool, Young Cody would I think that's pretty cool?
Young Cody was excited.
Yeah.
Well, so you mentioned, you know, there's no NFL team where you were from, So how did you guys pick who you rooted for?
It was really it was really split in my area if you're either a Viking span or a Packers fan, and I feel like there are probably a little bit more Vikings fans, but it was pretty much Vikings or Packers.
And what were you?
I was a Vikings fan?
Nice? Yeah?
How about so you mentioned Fletcher Cock's hardest people you've had to go against outside of him or where he would rank even in that.
He's up there, he's up there top you know, top four or five, it's him. It's if you ever have to block Dexter Lawrence one on one, which you very rarely do because you shouldn't just bad scheming if you have to block him one on one. But he's just a world beater, just he's so so big.
So I remember, like the first time I played against him, I looked across and I was like, I pray that I don't have to touch him this game. He doesn't have to is so wide.
Oh he just he makes the other d lineman look small, which is crazy because they're all huge, Like he's up there for sure. And then Derek Brown for the Panthers didn't didn't play him, you know. This year he got hurt, but last year, Yeah, I struggled a little bit with him. He's very very good play, Yeah, very good.
What makes what makes someone one of the hardest people to go against? What are the things? Is it just size? Strength? Like the physical stuff? Are there certain things people do? Like what are the things that you're like, Oh that was that was rough?
Yeah. I would say for the most part, it's it's the really big guys who have all that power, but they're also just so explosive of It's guys like Vita who are who are the strongest guy. If he just wanted to bull rush you every time, he could, but he's also very sneaky, athletic and uses his hands so well that if you're just gonna sit on the power, he's gonna hit you with something else. So it's the guys like that, and like a guy like Fletcher, who is that? But he also, like I said, played so long in the league that he's just such a smart player. That's if you put those, you know, three things together, size, explosiveness, and intelligent, it's a battle.
Yeah. So now we've been asking guys this the last couple of weeks. Now we've got Christmas coming in hot, tell me for you some of the favorite either movies, food, music, whatever, whatever warms your North Dakota Hart at Christmas time.
Yeah, I'm a big Uh, I'm a big Christmas music guy. I would listen to it. And I feel like once November first hits, it's about time to start listening.
You're a post Halloween guy, Oh yeah.
Once once Halloween's over. My fiance is not on board with that. She didn't want to put the tree up or anything Christmas until December, which.
I talked her in to go on a little bit earlier.
But look at a compromise about it.
No, So that and Uh, one of the traditions we would always do is I just like you know, we'd cook a some kind of breakfast bacon and all these cinnamon caramel rolls and pizza rolls and all this.
Yeah, it's just and.
We wonder how he ended up in all I'm perplexed.
But that's that was always our Christmas Eve morning. We would we would do that, and you know, it started out when it was a smaller family, would just sit on an old blanket on the ground, and then all of a sudden, there's ten people in your family. You can't really find a blanket that can hold ten people. So we had to move to the table. And but that that was something I always loved about Christmas Eve morning was just the wide range and just pizza rolls, you know, breakfast food, just whatever. It was great. We loved that.
Big fan.
Dude, I'm just thinking about does your mom cook?
Yeah?
Yeah, cooking for ten of you guys.
Yeah yeah, and finding something that every kid would want to you know, it's maybe seven of us would want it, but the other three have cereal or something like.
She just she's like, I don't care.
I'm not making more than one thing. If you don't like it, you're not eating.
That's great. I don't blame her. That sounds about right. We're talking to Cambray and Cody malc and speaking of your love of Christmas, I know the offensive line did the shopping spree? We have another visual aid oh that this was a photo I took of Cody that I just loved that. Of all the people to get paired up with the little girl, that was just only about the Barbie life.
You look so happy.
Yeah, yeah, it takes me back. I played with a little barbiees growing up.
You know you have many kids, not a man. Yeah, I love this. Tell me how cool does it mean you guys do the offensive line the Turkey time, you do this shopping spree at Christmas? Like how cool is it to be a part of a group that again, you guys are so close, and then also doing some things like this, What was.
That like to be a part of Yeah, it's so cool.
That's one thing that those are the two things that I think we all kind of look forward to. The Turkey time is just so much fun out there just interacting with the people driving up and getting their Thanksgiving dinners, Like that's really fun. But especially the Christmas that's such a good time. I mean, I mean, you give a kid. I think this series, you know, everyone gets two hundred Bucks, and they can get whatever they want in all of Target, and just so much fun to just see them not even care about the two hundred dollars spending limit, just grabbing everything they can and Okay, guys, we gotta you know, we only get two hundred dollars. We only get so many barbies with two hundred dollars. And that's just so much fun to just see them just go crazy out there. I mean, as a kid, if you had that opportunity, I would be doing the same thing.
Just oh this that that. You know, it's so much it's infinity money. Yeah, yeah, exactly right.
They're like, I can buy the whole story with this amount. I also know that the offensive line room gets decorated for Christmas. How were you at it last year? As a rookie, we.
Were okay, it wasn't It wasn't great. I do think that I had my fiance come in and help a little bit, so that was kind of cheating. But they did a really good It looked good this year. It's it's got to be up there in the top three in the whole building. Look, it looks pretty good in there. Wow, pretty good.
Number one.
I I got to assume you know, maybe like ticketing or you know, some of the behind the scenes people decorate pretty well.
Oh yeah, yeah, I think for the actual players, the DB's room is pretty impressive. But otherwise I think you guys are up there for sure. Where do you rank on the offensive line for eating?
Honestly, probably not as high as most other guys. I can tell you who number one is.
Luke for sure.
You know guys guys always eating. He'll show up to oline dinner with food already, like about to eat. What are you doing? No, I would say, I'm probably in the middle of the back.
Did you have to do a rookie dinner?
Yep? How bad was that it was? We went to pont and it was uh yeah, it ended up being five or six thousand, and it was fun until you get that check and it's but everyone's got to do it, so nothing you can really do it. Yeah, did you have.
To do a rookie dinner?
Like three?
You did do three? I was just yeah, oh, because you were the Yeah, so they didn't just let you off with one.
No, No, I just kept getting it because there's the same group of guys to the same coach. So I just kept doing the rookie dinner, but uh, Anthonyoclaire our Canadian friends, I had also then pay for his dinner because his bank in Canada wouldn't allow like more than like a thousand US dollars to be used for dinner. So technically I had it four.
Years in a row because you also had to do it. I recover ants, all right, So briefly here we'll end with the looking forward to this Panthers game. What are the interesting things about facing a team twice so close together?
Here you have fresh film.
I mean, we only played them a couple of weeks ago, so you have a lot of fresh film on them, but you know they also do on us, So it's I'm not really sure what goes into it scheme wise for the coaches because you know, not necessarily what you did last time is going to work this time, because obviously there's gonna be adjustments. But I think the biggest thing is just with the fresh film, you can kind of see how you block these guys into and just the adjustments how you're going to make the next time around. But it's just it's nice having fresh film on a team, especially when you play them and you can kind of watch yourself and how you would correct that.
All right, Well, Cody, thank you so much again for coming on a on a rough night of sleep and late night flight and everything. We really appreciate you coming on here.
Absolutely, Thank you guys.
This is great, all right, and thanks to all of you that's been on Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by Hooters, the original wing joint since nineteen eighty three. This is Buccaneers Radio.
