Bucs Gameday

Buccaneers OL Cody Mauch Has HC Todd Bowles 'Very Pleased' After Padded Practice

Cody Mauch hasn't been in the NFL long but he's already made an impression on his head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

David Harrison

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit a training camp milestone on Monday by practicing in pads for the first time this season. 

That means more hitting for the Buccaneers and more opportunities to make an impression if you're a player that operates from within the trenches. 

One of those players is rookie offensive lineman Cody Mauch, and according to his head coach, he has already made a positive impression on the team.

READ MORE: Bucs Receiver Returns to Practice

"(I'm) very pleased at this stage," said head coach Todd Bowles when asked about Mauch's performance up to this point. "He's a very smart guy. Obviously, he's going to see more defenses and different looks as we go, but he's handled everything with ease. We like the way he comes to practice every day, we like his approach - we really do. He understands the game a lot."

READ MORE: One Year After Ryan Jensen's Knee Injury

Mauch was an immediate favorite among many Bucs fans after he was drafted this April out of North Dakota State University. 

Part of what pleased those outside of the organization was the lineman's play, obviously, especially after standing out in Mobile, Alabama at the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl. 

But the other part that immediately made him a fan favorite is the comparison between he and center Ryan Jensen. 

With both men on the line this year Tampa Bay has a chance to field a formidable offensive line in front of whichever quarterback wins the starting job between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.

Of course, we shouldn't be crowning Mauch or any other Buccaneers quite yet, as Bowles pointed out, there's still plenty to do.

"It's going to be give and take. It's a grind," Bowles said. "I'm not going to say we have up and downs or good and bad days, it's a work in progress...As long as the work is there and they're making each other better, I'm happy with that."

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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David Harrison
DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has been in sports media since 2015 using written, audio, and video media to cover athletes, coaches, and games. In addition to covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for BucsGameday and Locked On Bucs he also covers the Washington Commanders for Commander Country and Locked On Commanders and the Washington Wizards for Inside the Wizards. David also covers the NFL as a whole as one of the Friday hosts for Locked On NFL. He is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and previously spent 20 years as an active member of the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.