What has been described as a “feel good” NFL draft story is beginning to be very uncomfortable in light of Deion Sanders’s recent call out of only one HBCU student drafted late? Cody Mauch, a North Dakota State walk-on tight end from the small town of Mantador, North Dakota, is now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, a quick perusal of his collegiate career record shows no prospect stars or college offers, even from North Dakota State. When he enrolled, he was not offered by the football program.
So how does a player who doesn’t even have a headshot on the 247Sports recruitment page get drafted in the second round as the 48th pick and not even have to go to the free agent market? One critical item is left out there: He’s white, from a predominately white collegiate institution.
Underdog Or Undeserving?
To look at Mauch, you wouldn’t immediately see that he is considered an all-around athlete. With two front teeth missing and a collegiate career record that does not suggest it. However, at Hankinson High School, he played tight end, quarterback, and defensive end, becoming a two-time all-region and all-state selection. He even had 13 receiving touchdowns in the 2016 championship season, which set a school record, per the NDSU website.
He started 39 consecutive games over his final three seasons at NDSU, two at right tackle and the last 37 at left tackle. Mauch also appeared in every NDSU game from 2019 through 2022. The program went 78-8 with four NCAA Division I FCS national championships and four Missouri Valley Football Conference titles over his six years.
Mauch is a two-time All-American and three-time All-MVFC honoree, including first-team in 2021 and 2022. Also, the collegiate universe had a lot of underground praise for Mauch, and the Bucs listened to the word on the street.
“The amount of D-Linemen who brought up Cody Mauch from the Senior Bowl after not knowing anything about him was astounding, and is something we always pay attention to,” Buccaneers Vice President of Player Personnel John Spytek said per the Bucs website.
“They think about it for a minute and they put some thought into it and they say, ‘That lineman from North Dakota State, he was really good. He was hard. He made me work.'”
Word of mouth alone does not make an NFL draftee, and Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, recognizes the hypocrisy regarding the NFL draft system.
The former Jackson State coach tweeted his displeasure at the 31 NFL teams for drafting only former JSU cornerback and four-star recruit Isaiah Bolden. On Saturday, the New England Patriots selected the defensive back in the seventh round with the 245th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Pats used their 12th and final draft selection to acquire the defensive back.
Prime Point
“So proud is you @isaiahbolden23,” tweeted Sanders. “You deserved to be drafted much higher but I’m truly proud of u. I know how much u want this. I’m ashamed of the 31 other @nfl teams that couldn’t find draft value in ALL of the talented HBCU players & we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU.”
Bolden started his career at Florida State and transferred to Jackson State to play for Sanders. In his first year playing for the Tigers in 2021 under Coach Prime, Bolden had 30 solo tackles, 14 assisted tackles, and seven pass breakups.
He was electric on special teams as a kickoff returner and, in his junior season, led the nation in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision in kickoff return average at 36.9 per return. He also tied for the FCS lead with kickoff returns.
Bolden also helped Jackson State to win two more of their 18 SWAC Conference Championship titles in 2021 and 2022.
Left For Free-Agency Uncertainty
Many other “draft-worthy” HBCU players entered the undrafted free-agent market to keep their dreams of playing in the NFL alive, 16 of which were signed by NFL teams, including three from Jackson State University, the most from the HBCU system.
Jackson State Linebacker Aubrey Miller, a three-star recruit, who went to the Miami Dolphins, is the reigning SWAC Defensive Player of the Year and is widely considered the trigger for Jackson State’s undefeated regular season for the first time in school history. He finished his collegiate career with 117 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, six pass breakups, five forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries, and two fumble recoveries.
A four-star recruit, Jackson State Defensive Back Dejahn Warren went to the Chicago Bears. The former Lackawanna Community College student had 51 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, six pass breakups, and an interception in 28 games with the Tigers.
Even without the recruitment stars and accolades of others in your draft peer group, there is no shame in not being drafted. It is an eyebrow-raising moment that Coach Prime was not afraid to point out and the drafting of Cody Mauch just might have confirmed.
