Cody Wallace joins pro ranks
by Glenn Rea, Record Editor
As much as Cody Wallace prepared for the phone call, it was still an unbelievable experience.
The Cuero High School All State football player and All-Big 12 Conference Texas A&M Aggie received a call from San Francisco 49er coaches telling him he had been picked in the NFL draft to become a professional football player.
“We were just sitting around watching the draft on TV,” Wallace said, “when the offensive line coach of San Francisco (George Warhop) called and asked if I had seen my name on the screen. He then passed the phone around to the head coach (Mike Nolan) and that's how I found out.”
Wallace was chosen in the fourth round of the draft, number 107, to be the 49ers' second center/interior lineman.
“I had no clue throughout the whole thing,” he said, “I expected to be in the sixth round or later. I would have been happy with that.”
The 49ers apparently had Wallace in their sites because they met and coached him during the Senior Bowl earlier this year.
Meeting with San Francisco team officials last week, Wallace expects to see some practice time before returning to Cuero for a couple of weeks.
“In my gut, I'm kind of nervous of heading up there,” he said. “I'm not expecting to just go up there and out perform the guys there. I know there is a lot I have to learn. You have to be on top of your game all the time.”
Draft notes on Wallace indicated he was one of the strongest centers in college football. At 6' 4”, 296 lbs., he was described as “a good blend of power and short-area explosiveness to be a violent blocker along the line of scrimmage.”
At Cuero High School he was a two-time Class 3A All State selection registering more than 100 knockdown blocks in each of his junior and senior seasons.
As a junior at Texas A&M, Wallace earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors after starting all 13 games. Also a team captain, he recorded 121 knockdowns and 11 touchdown-resulting blocks.
He was named co-Offensive Lineman of the year and Academic All-American his final year. He was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy in 2007.
“This is a great honor for the whole town,” said Gobbler Athletic Director Mark Reeve, “particularly for Cody.”
“Obviously he is a great football player and more importantly, he is a great roll model for our town, San Francisco and the NFL.”
He added, “The thing that has always impressed me about Cody is his work ethic. He does what he says he is going to do.”
Joining Wallace at San Francisco will be Joe Jon Finley, a former Cuero student. He is a graduate of University of Oklahoma and his father was previously athletic director here.
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| Cody Wallace Cuero High School graduate Cody Wallace at his final regular season game as a Texas A&M Aggie. Wallace has been drafted by San Francisco 49ers as an offensive lineman. (Record photo A. Cornell Green) |