Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.) When you're nickname is short for mountain, there isn't always enough room to fit everywhere, but former Alabama big man Terrence "Mt." Cody is fitting in just fine with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.
After being "run over" by the Cincinnati Bengals twice last year, Baltimore knew that to get back to the top of their division they had to find a run stopper and and they seem to have done it with the 57th pick in this past NFL draft.
Though Cody was hoping for a first round pick, his late second round selection came amid rumors that he was a weight problem waiting to happen, that he couldn't play on third down and he had no pass rush.
Those are all things that Baltimore coaches are now seeing aren't true.
Right now he's about 345, and that's a full 25 pounds less than that infamous picture of him shirtless at the weigh in at the senior bowl. But it's not just about the weight, but the quickness that came from the weight drop.
He's always had a first quick step, but now he has a burst that gets him into the backfield much quicker.
"We are really, really pleased with the player we see, "defensive coordinator Greg Mattison Said. "All the things we hoped, all the things we thought we saw either on film or at our workout or heard by word of mouth from coaches we respect... all those things up to this point have been coming through."
In one workout session, Cody burst through for two straight hits on the quarterback, with one of those hits causing a fumble. He proved he may be too much for one blocker to handle.
"I have something to prove," Cody said. "so I lost the weight. I went in the second round and it was my fault. So I have something to prove that was worth going in the first."
"This is my job and my life, so now (the weight loss) is real big for me. It's going to help me stay in the league if I can keep it down and keep it in control, which I'm doing very well right now. They (The Ravens) have a nutritional program, but I've been doing reall well on my own. They're good with with how I'm dealing with it."
And the coaches agree that Cody has overcome a lot of misconceptions about himself and his playing ability, one of them was not a third down player.
"I know a knock on him was that he's a first and second-down player, but we don't buy that at all. Clarence Brooks, our defensive line coach, worked very hard with him on his pass rush and even said to him one day, "If you think you're coming off the field because of a pass rushing situation, you're wrong". And he takes great pride in that. He believes he can be a pass rusher."
And according to Cody, if he has his way, he'll continue his double duty as a blocking back in goal line and short yardage situations on offense.
"I enjoyed that Alabama, and I showed I can be effective doing it." Cody said of his "dual threat" ability.
So whether it's offense, defense or special teams play, Terrence just wants to fit in, and he may just get the chance to do it.
After being "run over" by the Cincinnati Bengals twice last year, Baltimore knew that to get back to the top of their division they had to find a run stopper and and they seem to have done it with the 57th pick in this past NFL draft.
Though Cody was hoping for a first round pick, his late second round selection came amid rumors that he was a weight problem waiting to happen, that he couldn't play on third down and he had no pass rush.
Those are all things that Baltimore coaches are now seeing aren't true.
Right now he's about 345, and that's a full 25 pounds less than that infamous picture of him shirtless at the weigh in at the senior bowl. But it's not just about the weight, but the quickness that came from the weight drop.
He's always had a first quick step, but now he has a burst that gets him into the backfield much quicker.
"We are really, really pleased with the player we see, "defensive coordinator Greg Mattison Said. "All the things we hoped, all the things we thought we saw either on film or at our workout or heard by word of mouth from coaches we respect... all those things up to this point have been coming through."
In one workout session, Cody burst through for two straight hits on the quarterback, with one of those hits causing a fumble. He proved he may be too much for one blocker to handle.
"I have something to prove," Cody said. "so I lost the weight. I went in the second round and it was my fault. So I have something to prove that was worth going in the first."
"This is my job and my life, so now (the weight loss) is real big for me. It's going to help me stay in the league if I can keep it down and keep it in control, which I'm doing very well right now. They (The Ravens) have a nutritional program, but I've been doing reall well on my own. They're good with with how I'm dealing with it."
And the coaches agree that Cody has overcome a lot of misconceptions about himself and his playing ability, one of them was not a third down player.
"I know a knock on him was that he's a first and second-down player, but we don't buy that at all. Clarence Brooks, our defensive line coach, worked very hard with him on his pass rush and even said to him one day, "If you think you're coming off the field because of a pass rushing situation, you're wrong". And he takes great pride in that. He believes he can be a pass rusher."
And according to Cody, if he has his way, he'll continue his double duty as a blocking back in goal line and short yardage situations on offense.
"I enjoyed that Alabama, and I showed I can be effective doing it." Cody said of his "dual threat" ability.
So whether it's offense, defense or special teams play, Terrence just wants to fit in, and he may just get the chance to do it.
