Ole Miss Senior Spotlight: Strong Safety Cody Prewitt
Small town boy does good.
It is a familiar story but for Cody, his life could have taken a less positive route.
When Cody talks about his family, he talks about his grandparents, specifically his grandmother. He says he got his work ethic from her and she “keeps his head on straight.” (Article from Jasper County News)
His grandfather died before he could see Cody have success in college, but one of the last things he said to Cody was he wanted him play on TV.
Kids look for role models. It is only natural to find someone to emulate. Life is all about choices and making good choices is the key to having success.
As a kid Cody could have looked up to someone that would have led him down the wrong road but instead he listened to his grandmother. He also listened to his football coach Sylvia Bay’s Chad Odom, who he calls his father figure. He also picked up a mentor at Church who helped him follow the right path, Ken Craven.
When Prewitt got positive feedback from Ole Miss’ Coach Houston Nutt at a summer camp his sophomore year in high school he used all he had learned from all the positive influences in his life and poured himself into football and getting faster and stronger.
He became a workout champion way before he became a football All-American. He also focused on the track to get faster. As a result, he broke the private school 100 meter dash record, won best in state in the 200 meter dash and won the high jump as well.
He lowered his 40 time to a 4.47 (The same speed as super recruit Nick Brassell) even though he was 30 pounds heavier than Brassell as a high school senior.
Cody was asked in High School if he makes it to the NFL, how would he give back, Cody said, “If I do make it to the NFL and make some money, I couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t give back to my community and the town that supported me in high school and college. I want to encourage kids that anything is possible. That’s the goal I have.”
WHERE’S HE FROM
Prewitt hails from Bay Springs, MS and attended Sylvia Bay Academy. Even though he played in a small school league he was highly ranked. Superprep named him the no. 12 player in the state, Clarion-Ledger named him to their Dandy Dozen, and Rivals.com named him the no. 16 player in the nation.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 2013 Named All-American first team by the Associated Press and led the SEC in interceptions with six total.
- 11/28/2013 MSU – Four solo tackles, one interception (25 yd return) and a pass deflection
- 10/19/2013 LSU – Seven tackles and an interception
- 8/29/2013 Vanderbilt – Lead the team with eight tackles with the game saving interception
- 11/3/2012 Georgia: 11 total tackles, a fumble recovery and a half sack
- 10/6/2012 Texas A&M: Six tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception
- 9/29/2012 Alabama: 13 total tackles (career high) and a 0.5 tackles for loss.
- 11/26/2011 MSU: Five tackles and his first career interceptions
- 11/5/2011 Kentucky: Nine tackles, one QB hurry in his first start
2014 EXPECTATION
So what does an All-American safety do as an encore? You might see his outrageous numbers drop some this year, not because he’s ability is diminished, but because he has more help in the defensive secondary. Freshman CJ Hampton has impressed and will get on the field to lighten the load for Cody and will help keep Cody fresh for the end of games.
That should freak out offensive coordinators in the SEC as the league’s most dangerous pass defender will not be winded in the fourth quarter.
Cody is as good a leader off the field as he is on the field. He is an honor roll student in the classroom and has been able to will his team to win.
His now famous facebook quote before the Texas game last year pushed his Rebels past the Longhorns last year in Austin and he now has his sights set on Mississippi State.
As quoted from SEC Media days this summer, “It (the egg bowl loss) put a nail in my heart. The Egg Bowl is one of the great rivalries in the league or in college football period. To win that is like putting a flag pole down in Mississippi for 365 days following the game. Last year was a tough game for both teams. They played their hearts out. They made a play here and there and we didn’t and that’s all it really is. It’s execution and we look forward to this game all year, no matter whatever happens the rest of the season. It’s the kind of game we will be thinking about during the offseason and that’s the game that we carry into the season knowing we want to get there and really perform at a high level.”
If Ole Miss plays half as good against MSU this year as the team did against Texas last year the Bulldogs are in for a long night in Oxford this year.