We sat down with Cody Ford, one of the most promising offensive linemen in the draft, to discuss his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Cody Ford’s agent says he’s a near lock for the top 15. Most NFL analysts are inclined to agree.
In an era where offensive line play is often derided, the value of pro-ready linemen, especially those as versatile as Ford, are selected early and often in the NFL Draft. The Oklahoma product certainly hopes that’s the case in a matter of weeks, when his long-held dreams of playing professional football will come true.
Ford, an early entrant in the draft, has plenty of starting experience at left guard and right tackle for the Sooners, and he performed so well this past season that he earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press. According to analysts, he’s not only widely projected as a first round pick but one of the safest overall selections in the draft. And if a team needs an emergency kicker from the most unexpected source, Ford says he can do that, too.
We recently sat down with Cody to ask him about the frenzy of draft season and when he knew he could make it at the highest level.
FanSided: You’re getting ready to fulfill your dreams of playing professional football here soon enough. Do you remember the first time you thought playing in the NFL could be a realistic option?
Ford: Not necessarily in the NFL, but I can remember a moment when I knew I was going to be able to play college football. It was when my offensive coordinator came up to me after my sophomore year, which was my worst year ever, and he said, “I’m gonna make you an All-Stater before you get out of here.” [Laughs] I didn’t believe him. Then I ended up being All-State the next two seasons.
During my sophomore summer, I started going to camps and stuff. I was like, ‘Maybe I have something here.’ So I started working out every day just to prepare myself and put myself in the best position I could.
FanSided: What made that your worst year ever?
Ford: It was horrible. I didn’t have any technique. I didn’t have any I.Q. I was just kinda out there filling a spot.
FanSided: Did he ever say, ‘I told you so?’
Ford: Yeah, my senior year, he eventually said, ‘I told you that would happen.’ We kinda laughed about it.
FanSided: When did you first start playing football?
Ford: I started in the sixth grade in a local youth league.
FanSided: In those days were you bigger than the other kids?
Ford: Height-wise, yeah. As far as weight goes and everything else, no. At the time, I wasn’t as athletic enough to do anything else except to play o-line. I also played kicker, too, which was weird. [Laughs] Being in on kickoffs and stuff, that was weird.
FanSided: [Laughs] Could a team call on you today?
Ford: Kickoffs would probably be all right, but anything else is out for me.
FanSided: When you’re finally thinking college is an option, was there an idea to play at the highest level or were you more just thinking of football as a way to pay for college?
Ford: Honestly it was more of a thing of getting college paid for. Then when a bunch of big time schools started coming in, I started to realize the potential I had.
FanSided: You went with Oklahoma over other offers. What led to that route?
Ford: It was pretty much the o-line coach, Coach Bedenbaugh, who shot straight with me from day one. I really appreciated that. Even through college, he was the most honest that he could be about everything. He never put on that recruit face that a bunch of people do. They try to get you to come to college, then they change it up on you when you get there. He never did that. It was the tradition of winning at Oklahoma as well. I wanted to be a part of it, that’s for sure.
A bunch of schools came in there and said, ‘Yeah, we’ll bring you in and you’ll be a starter.’ It’s this, that, and the other. But he pretty much came in and said, ‘Anything you get from me, you’re going to have to earn it. Nothing is going to be given to you.’ I respected that a lot. He also told me some information about other schools that didn’t add up to what they were telling me. It really showed after I went to Oklahoma, so I knew he was real during the recruiting process. He’s the same when he’s recruiting as he is now.
FanSided: You broke your leg in 2016. Was that the first major injury you’d endured in your career?
Ford: Yeah that was the first one I’d ever had that serious. I mean, I’ve broken a finger in a game my senior year in high school, but I played the whole season with a cast on. That was the first time I ever needed surgery or anything like that. I was pretty upset about the way it happened. I wasn’t mad at anyone. I understood these things just happen and you can’t blame anybody for it, but the first week out of surgery, I was pretty upset. Football was everything to me, honestly. I just missed playing with my brothers on Saturday.
FanSided: How much reflection have you had on the fact that your college career is over? Is that an odd feeling?
Ford: Yeah, it’s pretty weird. I was thinking the other day that I feel like I just moved into my dorm for my freshman year and now I’m already training for the draft. When people said this time was going to fly by fast, I should have taken them seriously, because it really did.
FanSided: How difficult was it to declare for the draft? Or have you known for some time that’s what you would do?
Ford: Well, it wasn’t difficult, but I also didn’t know for sure like the whole season. I didn’t have it on my mind I was going to leave. I took the season game by game and focused on the next opponent. After the Alabama game, I had a talk with my o-line coach and he definitely felt it was the right decision to make.
FanSided: What does he tell you in that moment?
Ford: Right after the game, he saw me walking off and he asked me. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and declare,’ and he said, ‘That’s the right decision. I definitely think that you’re ready for it physically as well as mentally.’ He definitely expected it even after a loss like that to Alabama.
FanSided: Given the number of mock drafts and attention at this point, is it hard to not pay attention to it all?
Ford: It’s definitely a lot to take in. It’s very surreal to be in this position, you know? Kids have dreams of playing in the NFL, and I really have a big chance and opportunity in front of me to actually do it. It’s not really taking an emotional toll on me for sure. You can’t look through the mock drafts and stuff like, since you never know what’s going to happen, honestly.
FanSided: What are your draft expectations?
Ford: If I get invited to Nashville, I’m definitely going to go. But if not, I’m going to do a little something with the family back at home in Louisiana. I wanna enjoy the moment with my family and my friends.