Kody Bliss

Kody Andrew Bliss (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football punter. He attended Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee before signing in 2003 to play collegiately at Auburn University.[1] He is currently an emergency medicine resident physician at LSUHSC Baton Rouge Emergency Medicine program in Baton Rouge, LA.[2]

Kody Bliss
Bliss before the 2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1985-02-21) February 21, 1985
Enid, Oklahoma
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:177 lb (80 kg)
Career information
High school:Brentwood Academy
(Brentwood, Tennessee)
College:Auburn
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only

College career

While at Auburn, Bliss was on the Ray Guy Award watchlist in 2006, his senior year.[3] During that season, he led the Southeastern Conference with 46.1 yards per punt and also had 12 downed inside the 20-yard line. This performance earned him second team All-SEC honors from the AP and the SEC Coaches.[4][5] He also finished first-team all-SEC in 2005.[6] He also earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week against LSU.[7]

During his career at Auburn, Bliss totalled 202 punts for 8,861 yards. He finished with a 43.9 yard per punt average, the highest average in Auburn's history at the time and only passed in 2018 by Arryn Siposs.[8] Bliss' career long was a 71 yard boot versus Tulane, but he had punts of over 60 yards in all four seasons.

DraftShowcase.com ranked Bliss as the second best punter available for the 2007 NFL Draft,[9] while Scout.com have him as the 4th overall.[10] After a strong showing in the 82nd annual East-West Shrine Game, USA Today wrote that "Bliss can punt long, high and with accuracy. If any punter is selected in this draft, Bliss is among the first three with a chance".

Pro career

CFL

Despite the ratings, Bliss went undrafted by the NFL and subsequently signed with the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos.[11] Bliss was ultimately unable to unseat longtime Eskimos veteran and native-Canadian Sean Fleming to make the roster and was released on June 23, 2007.

AAFL

Bliss was among those protected by the All American Football League's Team Alabama.

Personal life

Bliss was among the inaugural class of 345 inductees into the National Football Foundation's National Honor Society, a recognition program for players who excel both on the field and in the classroom.[12] Bliss graduated with a degree in marketing and earned a 3.45 cumulative GPA.[13]

Bliss graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 2017 and subsequently began residency training in Emergency Medicine at LSUHSC Baton Rouge Emergency Medicine program in Baton Rouge, LA.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Auburn has two legs up". The Tennessean. 2003-09-11. p. 30. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  2. "Baton Rouge, Class of 2020".
  3. "Kody Bliss Named To Ray Guy Award Watch List". Auburn Athletic Department. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  4. "2006 Associated Press All-SEC football team". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  5. "2006 All-SEC Football Teams Announced". University of Georgia Athletics. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  6. "2005 AP All-SEC Football Team". Walb News 10. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  7. Caldwell, Jason (2006-09-18). "Bliss Earns SEC Special Teams Honor". Inside the Auburn Tigers/Scout.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  8. "Auburn Tigers Punting". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  9. Trieu, Allen (2006-08-05). "NFL Draft Showcase – 2007 Punters". Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  10. "2007 Scout.com NFL Draft Rankings". Scout.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  11. "Esks bring in import kicker/punter". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
  12. "NFF Announces Inaugural National Honor Society". National Football Foundation. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  13. "Former Tigers Bliss, Dede And Herring Named To National Football Foundation's Inaugural National Honor Society". Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
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