Being a gym rat yourself, of which I am not, then you would also know that going on a crash diet to loss 30 pounds in 1.5 months can really put a hurt on your brute strength numbers, couldn't it? I dont know for sure, but that is usually the excuse from guys who lose a lot of weight before the combine. Gerald McCoy did the same thing this year. According to Pat Kirwan when he was on Sirius Radio he stated that Cody was regularly putting up 30 or more reps before the senior bowl.
Also those two sites you gave are not real scouts. They are regular peeps just like the rest of us. And what regular people see is a fat guy and automatically put the lacks motor tag on them. Every single fat guy that comes out of the draft will have that lacks motor tag on him from the regular peeps who know how to make a website. Hampton, Washington, Wilfork, Franklin, Ngata, and many other fat guys all had the lacks motor tag. In fact this debate is very similar to one I had with most on Ngata, everyone did not want him because they saw a fat guy who lacked a motor. All I saw was a talented guy who was fat and needed to gain stamina. Real scouts in the NFL know that it isn't because they lacked motor but because they were out of shape and lost stamina towards the end of games. Don't confuse lack of motor with lack of stamina. One is a character flaw and the other is a physical flaw. Physical flaws being easier to fix then Character ones.
And if Cody is already under 350 then he has already fixed the physical flaw and will keep it under 350 as long as I have faith in Lott.
Depends on your regimen. If you do a hybrid workout, which consists of equal cardio and strength training, you can maintain or even increase strength while still losing weight. It depends on your body fat, which Cody has a lot of. This also requires focus, determination and dedicating long periods of time training. Remember too that the more body fat you have, the faster it comes off with increased exercise. If you are 210 looking to lose 40 pounds, it will take a long time to accomplish; whereas, if you are 380, it is feasible to lose 40 pounds in 6 weeks at a healthy pace.
If he is doing all aerobic exercises (which I doubt because he is a football player), He may see a dip in strength. He would be doing himself a disservice, as he would be sacrificing strength for rapid weight loss and stamina increase. As a NT, he needs that strength to be explosive.
If Kirwan is right and he was doing 30+ reps at the Senior Bowl, then it tells me that more likely he had a bad day at the combine. With my regimen, which mimics that of football players minus plyometrics, some days I feel like I can lift the world in one arm and others, I can't bench a Dixie cup. I have to imagine that it was more that he had an off day than his actual strength; however, 22 does not help his case when many other DTs get into the high 20s low 30s. Although speed is not a priority for NTs, he should still run in the low 5s IMO.
The variable, which you mentioned, is John Lott. He has the ability to get into player's heads and get them to maximize their potential. I remember reading that when DRC was in the combine, he said he had never put up 225 more than 12 times. With Lott's help (and calling him Dairy Queen), he put it up 16 times.
One thing to consider is that motor and stamina have a moderate correlation. Part of increasing stamina requires motivation and determination. And as Pariah mentioned, it was rumored that the only times Cody tried to get in top shape was when he was trying to get into a big-time school and after he was thoroughly embarrassed at the combine. Of course this could easily be complete conjecture.
The plus side to Cody is that he has the technique to be a successful 3-4 nose tackle. His main job is to dominate the interior, command double teams and help his linebackers and DE in the pass rush.
With all things considered, I'm not against drafting Cody at all. I am making an argument that it is a distinct possibility that he slips out of the 1st round.
