The Ravens entered training camp with 10 rookie draft picks hoping to make an impact on the field. Though selected by Baltimore a year ago, Dan Cody could easily be included in that group of first-year players. After going down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament on the first day of training camp last year, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound linebacker/defensive end from the University of Oklahoma is looking to show coaches and teammates why the Ravens made him the 53rd player taken overall in 2005.
So far, the Ravens have been pleased with Cody?s progress and are excited about utilizing the athletic, versatile player, who provides the team with great speed off the edge.
“He looks good, strong,” Ravens head coach Brian Billick said. “He?s very confident on the knee. That?s the big thing. [He] looked like he wasn?t thinking about the knee at all and that?s a big step.”
For Cody, the first real test of his knee comes tonight when the Ravens open their preseason schedule against the New York Giants. The game represents the first time Cody will face live competition since playing in college 18 months ago.
Cody said that while he does have the advantage of being with the team last year and learning the defense, nothing prepares a player more than actually being on the field.
“I?m anxious to just get out there and play,” Cody said. “I feel like I?ve done everything I could to get to this point. I feel like I?m in great shape to play in the first preseason game, but I still have more to do to get ready for the regular season. You can spend all the time in the world looking over the Xs and Os, but nothing can replace being out there with the players and feeling the flow of the game.”
Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan said Cody will start out playing for the team during nickel pass-rush situations and that the more he shows he can handle, the more he will get to do over the course of the game.
“Sometimes he?s gotten a little tentative with the knee,” Ryan said. “But this will be a great test for him [tonight]. We?re all excited about him. No one?s more jacked up to play than Dan. It?s going to be great to watch him out there.”
Ravens safety Ed Reed said Cody provides another wrinkle to an already imposing defense that ranked fifth in 2005.
“[He] makes a great addition,” Reed said. “We?ve got more depth, guys are healthy and we have a chance to be fresh coming in. It?s a great rotation we have coming in.”
THE CODY FILE
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 255
College: Oklahoma
How acquired: Second round, 2005 draft (53rd player taken overall)
Did you know? Cody?s 25 career sacks in college ranks him second in school history behind Cedric Jones? 31.5 from 1992 to ?95 … Was a college teammate with current Raven wide receiver Mark Clayton.
