Senior Signing Spotlight: Cody Pock

This is No. 19 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 296) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.

SPOTLIGHT: 3/3/19

Transferring to another school gave Cody Pock a second chance at football. It's led to a continuation of the game in college.

Pock began playing tackle football when he was seven years old. As a sophomore, Pock, played wide receiver on the Pinnacle JV team.

He played up until the start of his junior year at Pinnacle.

"The coach basically told me I would never touch the field, so I quit, not expecting to play in high school," Pock said in an e-mail interview. "I decided to transfer with my friends and play football and finish with my friends that were already at Saguaro along with the Hattens. My mindset when I got there was to compete as hard as I could and land whatever job on the field presented itself."

Much was made last December when twins Hayden and Hogan Hatten transferred from Pinnacle to Saguaro. Pock also made the move to the Scottsdale District school. Once there, he did indeed get on the field, appearing in nine games for the Sabercats as a 5-11, 165-pound linebacker.

Pock received his first offer from Pacific University, a Division III school in Northwest Oregon. After visiting the school, he was impressed with the college and its location in Forest Grove. Following the trip, he committed to the Boxers.

"What led me to choose Pacific was the location of the school along with the possibilities for me after I finish college," Pock said. "I also feel that I will be a good fit for the type of defensive scheme that they run."

Pacific is considered among the top regional colleges in the West by U.S. News and World Report as well as The Princeton Review. It wasn't just the location and football program that caused Pock to head up there.

"Academics played a big role in my decision," Pock said. "The school has a large majority of professors who worked in their particular fields, who can show you how the material is applied in the real world."

Saguaro has been encouraging of having its players take part in multiple sports. The past few years, several have surfaced on either the basketball teams or during track season.

Pock has also played baseball since his elementary school years. He's doing one final season with the Sabercats this spring as he's not planning to play baseball at Pacific.

He is in a busy stretch with the baseball team. Saguaro defeated Prescott on Friday afternoon then turned around and played Sunrise Mountain on Saturday morning. The Sabercats have three games this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Pacific, a member of the Northwest Conference, finished 5-5 last season. In addition to Pock, Saguaro running back Noah Brooks committed to the Boxers. Pacific will open the 2019 season on Friday, Sept. 6 at home on the synthetic field of Hanson Stadium against Chapman University (Calif.).

Perhaps no team on social media invokes as much vitriol as Saguaro. The Sabercats have won six consecutive state championships (the past three in the 4A Conference). Saguaro has played at where its enrollment level is at (currently 1,288) and also captured the Division II title, when it was forced to play up a division, in 2015. It can be argued that the Sabercats' success (as well as that of Centennial) is one of the main reasons for the creation of the Open Division Playoff, which will begin in 2019.

Pock observed this from the outside while at Pinnacle and had a chance to live it over the past year as the Sabercats successfully defended their title.

"Nobody knows the work that we put in and the bonds that the team has," Pock said. "Many people think everyone is there to only play at the next level and that's it. (Head) Coach (Jason) Mohns expects us to be a family and it really has an effect on the team. Each kid is playing for the person next to them. We trust that they will do their jobs and be where they need to be. It has truly made me appreciate what Coach Mohns has done for all of the kids, whether it be on the field, or making you a better man."