Viral 12-Year-Old Football Sensation Cody Paul's Life Took an Unexpected Turn

Many years after he first rose to fame, Cody Paul is still a household name. He went viral in 2006 while he was in middle school while playing football, before going viral was even a thing. Up there with the likes of the “Chocolate Rain” guy and the still adorable “Charlie bit my finger” video, Cody Paul’s 12-year-old football prowess was seemingly on everyone’s radar thanks to a video shared to Myspace and YouTube.

Cody didn’t expect the level of fame he’d soon hit when his brother shared the video for some out-of-state family members to see him play. But it picked up speed (alongside Cody’s impressive running speed) and made him a YouTube star. However, almost 20 years later, the world is wondering what ever happened to Cody Paul and if he ever played football professionally for the NFL.

While everyone expected Cody to become the next star football player in the NFL, things didn’t exactly turn out as planned. He was a record-breaking footballer from middle school through high school. At 12 years old, he was nicknamed the “white Reggie Bush” after more than 11 million viewers watched a clip of him playing football for the Los Alamitos Pop Warner Pee Wee Griffins.

Cody alone scored 45 touchdowns that season and led his team to the Pop Warner Super Bowl. By the time he got to high school, he even had fans as he excelled to the next level. He had 1,877 rushing yards, 26 total touchdowns, and 155 receiving yards, but by recruiting time, he got less attention than expected, likely because his size topped out at 5 foot 5 inches.

“Probably the most positive thing that came from this video was the opportunity to go play in college,” Cody told Riley Winn at Jukes. “I’m extremely undersized. A lot of colleges would overlook somebody like me, but it gave me the opportunity to go and play in college at a great Division 2 school at Chadron State.” There, he continued to do well.

He had almost 1,000 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, and almost 2,000 yards returning the ball. When Cody was looking at college options, ESPN actually reported on his prospects, sharing that he compensated for his height by “hitting the weight room.” He even earned a spot in the Los Alamitos 1,200-Pound Club, which is an exclusive honor for students who can bench press, deadlift, squat, and clean that amount.

While many expected him to go on towards a D1 and subsequent NFL career, that’s not what happened. “Washington never called. Oregon sent a letter but failed to follow up. USC, despite the coaches raving about Paul's video at camp, didn't express any interest after that,” ESPN shared.

Despite not becoming a professional football player, Cody seems to be content with where he’s landed. “[The video] got me a degree, it got me to where I am today,” Cody shared. “I met my wife in college. Large parts of my life have snowballed from that and it goes past just football. Nowadays, after college football, I played a year of arena football in Bismarck for the Bismarck Bucks. It was a ton of fun.

“Fun fact: I roomed with Shawn Oakman there,” he added, referring to the Canadian Football League star. “He was a super awesome guy. [I’m now] pursuing my teaching degree. I finish up here in just about a month,” Cody said in 2022. “And I’ll be teaching elementary education. I’ve been coaching middle school football here in Chadron for the last four years and going down the teaching and coaching path.”

While Cody isn’t super active on social media, his last Twitter posts in February 2024 celebrated Chadron’s wins and players. His bio says that he’s retired from playing football, although he’s a “coach” and “educator.” If all pre-teen viral sensations followed Cody’s path of furthering the next generations, perhaps the world would be just a little bit better.