Cody Layne Wallace (born November 26, 1984) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
and
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
. He was drafted by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in the fourth round of the
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. Wallace was also a member of the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
,
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
, and
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
Early years
Wallace attended
Class 3A Cuero High School
Cuero High School is a public high school located in Cuero, Texas, United States and classified as a 4A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is part of the Cuero Independent School District located in central DeWitt County. ...
, where he earned all-state honors as an
offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
. He played
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
,
offensive guard
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
, and
offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
at Cuero. As a junior and senior, he made over 100
pancake blocks
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
. On the defensive line as a senior, he posted 45
tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...
. He also advanced to the
powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...
state meet.
As a college prospect in high school, he was rated 3 stars by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
, ranked 16th in the 2003 offensive guard prospect class, and ranked 42nd out of all 2003 Texas high school prospects. He was
recruited by Texas A&M,
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. He chose to sign a
National Letter of Intent
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
with Texas A&M under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is a retired American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school w ...
.
College career
![CodyWallace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/CodyWallace.jpg)
Wallace
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
his first season. In his freshman (2004) season, he played in five games and was listed second at strong guard on the
depth chart.
[
As a sophomore, Wallace started in all 11 games as a center. He helped the team compile an average of 442.3 yards of ]total offense
Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...
per game, which is the second best in team history. The team also rushed for 234.9 yards per game, which was A&M's best rushing record since 1991. He received SBC All-Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...
honorable mention honors after the season.
Wallace continued to start as center in all 14 games during his junior season, helping the team produce 397.4 offensive yards per game, including a Big 12 record 206.8 rushing yards per game. The team also led the Big 12 in time of possession
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
, third down
A down is a period in which a play transpires in gridiron football. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to other codes of football, but is synonymous with a "tackle" in rugby league. The team in possession of the ...
conversion percentage, and the fewest turnovers. The offensive line allowed only 1.5 quarterback sacks per game. For his efforts, he was named to the AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
All-Big 12 Football Second-team.
Prior to his senior season, he was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team. After the regular season in his senior year, he was named to the All-Big 12 Football First-team, and was awarded by the Big 12 coaches (who are not allowed to vote for their own players) as the co-offensive lineman of the year. He was also named a Rimington Trophy
The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982.
A member of the National College F ...
finalist.
Awards and honors
* 2005 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
* 2006, 2007 Team captain
* 2006 All-Big 12 Second-team
* 2006 ''ESPN The Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...
''/CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team
* 2007 Rimington Trophy
The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982.
A member of the National College F ...
finalist
* 2007 Draddy Trophy
The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is ...
semifinalist
* 2007 Preseason All-Big 12 Team
* 2007 Member of the Leadership Council
* 2007 Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...
co-Offensive Lineman of the Year
* 2007 ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' All-American
* 2007 ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Academic All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
Second-team
* 2007 ESPN All-Big 12 Second-team
Professional career
Pre-draft
At the 2008 NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, Wallace ran a 5.30 40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
and made 26 repetitions on the 225- lb bench press
The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
.
San Francisco 49ers
In the 2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in the fourth round (107th overall). The 49ers expect him to play early on as Eric Heitmann
Eric Wade Heitmann (born February 24, 1980) is a former center. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 7th round (239th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft.
College career
Heitmann graduated from Stanford University where he was voted firs ...
's backup. 49ers head coach Mike Nolan
Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is a former American football coach. Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, ...
, when asked about Wallace's selection, commented: "Not necessarily that we need a center, but we wanted the best player on the board and because of the flexibility of the other guys, it doesn’t hurt us to take a center. As a matter of fact it helps us in getting a better offensive line. We coached him at the Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...
. We really liked him. We were pleased he was there at our fourth pick, and we got him." He signed a four-year contract with the team on July 23.
Wallace was declared inactive in all 16 games of his rookie season. He played in one game during the 2009 season.
Wallace was cut by the 49ers prior to the 2010 season.
Detroit Lions
On September 22, 2010, Wallace signed into the Detroit Lions' practice squad. The Lions released Wallace from their practice squad on October 3, 2010.
New York Jets
Wallace was signed to the New York Jets practice squad of October 13, 2010.
Second stint with the Lions
The Lions signed Wallace off New York's practice squad and to their active roster on October 20, 2010.
Houston Texans
After Wallace was cut from the Lions roster for the second time, he was signed to the Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
practice squad. Wallace was cut on September 3, 2011 by the Texans. He was signed to the practice squad on September 22.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wallace was released by Houston at the end of the 2012 preseason, and was immediately picked up by Tampa Bay. He appeared in eight games for Tampa in the 2012 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh signed Wallace in September 2013, after he was a final cut from Tampa Bay. The Steelers projected him as a back-up at both center and guard. He dressed for his first game with Pittsburgh against Baltimore on October 20.
Following a week-14 loss against the Dolphins during the 2013 season, Wallace was fined $17,875 by the NFL for two infractions. One was for striking an opponent late and another for grabbing/hitting another player's private area.
During a week-14 game in 2015 against the Denver Broncos, Wallace delivered a late hit against Broncos safety David Bruton, resulting in a personal foul and fine of $23,152.
Wallace injured his knee during the 2016 preseason and was inactive for the first seven games of the season before being placed on injured reserve on November 5, 2016.
Personal life
Wallace was raised by his paternal
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
grandparents, since both his parents died when he was young. When he was 8, his father, aged 43, died in prison. His mother died of an unknown illness when he was 16, and was unable to take care of her two children many years before that. To feel his mother's presence, he wears her stud earrings. Wallace stated: "Going through so much at a young age, it seems like I can handle more difficult situations maybe easier than most people. I just kind of look at everything in a little bigger picture." 49ers head coach Mike Nolan
Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is a former American football coach. Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, ...
compared Wallace to former 49ers center Jeremy Newberry
Jeremy David Newberry (born March 23, 1976) is a former center in the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was born in Antioch, California, and played college football a ...
as "a no-nonsense guy when it comes to football."[
He received his ]bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in sport management
Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...
from Texas A&M in May 2007, prior to his senior season. He worked on a master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. his senior season.
On May 22, 2010, Wallace married his longtime girlfriend, Chely Marie George of Pleasanton, California.
References
External links
San Francisco 49ers bio
* Texas A&M bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Cody
1984 births
Living people
People from Cuero, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
American football centers
Texas A&M Aggies football players
San Francisco 49ers players
Detroit Lions players
New York Jets players
Houston Texans players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Pittsburgh Steelers players