Cody making difference in first year with Tide

When watching his junior college highlight tapes, Alabama head coach Nick Saban found just what he was looking for in Terrence Cody.

“We watched his freshman tape, we watched his sophomore tape,” Saban said. “We look for guys like Terrence Cody who are nose guard, power guys. And he certainly was that.”
As a 6-foot-5, 365-pound beast of a 3-4 defensive tackle, Cody has anchored Alabama’s No. 2 rush defense in only his first year with the Crimson Tide.

The current weight of the junior college transfer seems rather small, however, when compared to his old self. Coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College earlier this year, it was rather generous to use 400 pounds to describe Cody.

“The question was would we be able to manage his weight so that he would be able to sustain performance and get in the kind of condition he needed to be in to play to his capacity,” Saban said. “He’s done a good job of that; he’s working hard at it and he’s maintained a weight where he can be an effective player.”

Cody was motivated to get into playing shape immediately after arriving at Alabama in the summer. Not able to play on the Division I level out of high school because of poor grades, Cody was not going to take this opportunity for granted.

Cornerback Javier Arenas said he saw the hard work put in by Cody early in the summer translate into becoming the heart of the Tide’s defense this fall.

“During the summer workouts, he maybe struggled at first. I was looking like, ‘Aw man, this guy might be too big’,” Arenas said. “But he adjusted fine and probably the second or third day of camp, when he was out there doing his thing, I was like, ‘This guy might be the real deal’.”

Dropping to 365 pounds over the off-season has allowed Cody to penetrate through the offensive line in a way that not only plugs up running lanes, but also collapses the pocket and makes opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.

No one man has had the manpower to stop his colossal figure this season, and sometimes two can’t even get the job done. When multiple players are occupied with Cody, his teammates in the front seven can get to the ball carrier with ease.

“I remember a couple times three of them were on me and I was surprised myself,” Cody said. “It’s difficult, but I know quite a few people are freed up so I know somebody’s going to make the play.”

Running back Glen Coffee, the SEC’s leading rusher by more than 100 yards, owns the task of facing Cody in practice every week, and Coffee said he can see why teams have so much trouble running against the Tide.

“It’s almost like a guessing game, because you want to press the hole, but you know he’s going to be in the hole,” he said. “Then when you cut it back, he’s big enough and quick enough to get in that hole also. I see the problems other running backs face when they go against him.”

Cody has become one of the most recognizable players around campus, not only because of his size, but because fans understand how integral he is to Alabama’s run defense. Along with the respect come the nicknames too, as Cody has developed quite a few.

“I like [the admiration],” he said. “You’re helping out the team, you’re helping bring a national championship, maybe, to the school and you’re winning games.”

But which of his nicknames is Cody’s favorite?

“I like Mount Cody,” he said. “I’m gonna stick with that one.”