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Most Recent Entries
- Henry, Bucs Doesn't Appear To Be A Match
- Preaseason Dates And Times Announced
- Could Henry Be Heading Bucs Way?
- Bucs Sign Four Players
- Bucs Add Four More Rookies
- Jackson earns Bucs contract
- Tampa Bay's Undrafted Free Agents
- Gruden Friday Quotes
- Bucs Received Trade Offers For Simms
- 3 Bulls headed to Bucs mini-camp
- Gradkowski on trade block?
- Jackson signs with Bucs; Moffitt to Houston
- Talib All Smiles In Tampa
- Gruden, Allen Comment On Draft
- Bucs Trade Up
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Forum: Talk Bucs | List: Bucs Free Agents
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TAMPA - I had a conversation with Chris Henry’s agent a little while ago. He said there are actually two NFL teams that are interested in giving Henry a tryout. The Bucs, however, are not one of them.
No surprise there. Though the Bucs are on record as saying they will consider signing anybody who they think can make their football team better, signing the troubled Henry always seemed like a stretch of the biggest proportions.
It’s not just the possibility (or should we say likelihood) that Henry will wind up missing practice and playing time because of his latest run in with the law. There’s also the fact that the Bucs seem quite content to go with what they already have at Henry’s position.
That, in fact, has sort of been their take all offseason. They did virtually nothing to address their apparent need at receiver during free agency, then followed up by doing virtually nothing to improve that position during the draft.
Sure, they drafted Dexter Jackson in the second round, but Jackson is something of a project at receiver. He was drafted primarily to improve the return game and with the hope or expectation that he will one day develop into a regular contributor at split end.
The plan it seems is to lean more heavily on Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall at flanker and to hope that one of either Paris Warren or Chad Lucas can earn the right to take some snaps away from Joey Galloway at split end.
It’s not a bad approach, but if it doesn’t work out the Bucs will have opened themselves up to a lot of criticism for not doing more to improve what many perceive to be the biggest area of need on their team.
TAMPA - Even after drafting Dexter Jackson in the second round, the Bucs still have a pretty size-able hole in their receiving corps. Could it be they have plans to fill that hole with troubled receiver Chris Henry?
A judge in Cincinnati has temporarily released the seemingly always-in-trouble Henry from electronic monitoring and house arrest so that he can travel to another city to attend a tryout with an NFL team. The team was not named in Tuesday’s hearing but the judge has asked for a letter from the team so we should know which team is after Henry pretty soon.
No one ‘round these parts would be at all surpised if it was the Bucs. They’ll do just about anything to improve their team, including offering wayward players a second or even third chance. You have to wonder, though, if the Bucs would extend such an offer to someone as troubled as Henry.
Henry has twice been suspended by the NFL for drug and alcohol-related incidents and is currently facing charges following an incident in which he allegedly punched a man in the head and threw a beer can into the man’s car. Following his arrest on those charges, Henry was held under $51,000 bail. When he made bail, he was ordered to wear the electronic monitoring device and placed under house arrest.
We’ll let you know just as soon as we know which team is after Henry.
TAMPA - We’ve got the official dates and start times for all the Bucs preseason games, so Bucs fans can start arranging their summer plans accordingly.
The Bucs four-game preseason slate starts off with a game Aug. 9 in Miami at 7:30. The Bucs then play the following Sunday, Aug. 17, at home against New England in a game that will be televised by the NFL Network beginning at 8 p.m.
The Bucs wrap up the home portion of their preseason with a game Saturday, Aug. 23 against Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium and wrap up their preseason slate with a game against the Texans in Houston on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
All times are EST.
TAMPA - South Florida wideout Amarri Jackson was one of four players to earn another look from the Bucs during their tryout last weekend.
The other rookies signed by the Bucs were DT Chris Bradwell (Troy), C John Rochford (Miami) and RB Clifton Smith (Fresno State).
Rochford was one of three players who was rewarded for his effort at the camp. He was allowed to keep his helmet. Now he gets a chance to keep his uniform for a while.
The most interesting member of the group is probably Smith, the 5-foot-8, 190-pound running back out of Fresno State. Smith led his team in all purpose yardage last year and is the epitome of an all-purpose back. He averaged more than 6 yards per carry as a runner, caught 33 passes and accumulated more than 300 yards on punt returns in 2007.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers today announced that they have signed DT Chris Bradwell (Troy), WR Amarri Jackson (South Florida), C John Rochford (Miami) and RB Clifton Smith (Fresno State). Terms were not disclosed.
Each tried out for the team during last weekend’s rookie minicamp and performed well enough to be signed.
University of South Florida WR Amarri Jackson was offered a free agent contract with the Bucs and expected to sign by Tuesday, club sources said.
Jackson was one of three players invited to the Bucs’ mini-camp last week who earned a free agent contract.
Jackson said last weekend, “If you watched me at USF, hopefully you get a chance to watch me in Tampa Bay. If you haven’t watched me, I’m looking forward to showing you what I can do in the near future.”
Jackson will now get that chance.
“I’ve been through it all my life. This is nothing,” Jackson said. “This is just another hurdle to jump over and I’m there.”
Former USF offensive linemen Jarred Carnes and Walter Walker also competed in the Bucs’ mini-camp, but did not receive free agent deals from the Bucs.
Jackson will join former Bulls Mike Jenkins (Dallas), Trae Williams (Jacksonville) and Ben Moffitt (Houston) in NFL camps this summer.
The Bucs are expected to announce their three additional free agent signings Tuesday.
Head Coach Jon Gruden
(On the first day of the rookie mini-camp)
“We had a nice beginning here to our mini-camp, a lot of new energy, a lot of new faces.”
(On if the young players were pressing)
“Well, there’s obviously a lot of pressing going on. It’s a tryout camp for a lot of guys. Right now with the mandated rule, the way I understand it you’re only allowed to bring 80 guys to camp. So throughout the NFL roster spots are at a premium, they’re hard to get, so guys do want to impress. I’m sure there is some pressing going on. At the same time, they’re learning a brand new system and meeting a lot of new faces. So this is tough. There’s no question – around the league, this is tough. But I did see some guys really do some good things today.”
(On how small-school players Josh Johnson and Dexter Jackson looked)
“Oh, it’s going to be a work in progress, but you see athletic ability. We’ve got a long way to go – that’s about the best way I can sum it up. But work will get done and it will take some time. They’re two good kids; I think they will continue to improve.”
(On how the rookies look in terms of being in shape)
“Well, we’ll see. You can only judge that based on the next couple of days. None of them are in the kind of shape they need to be in; I hope they understand that. It’s going to get a lot hotter here and the speed is going to really pick up. I think they understand that. But in fairness to a lot of these guys, they’ve been making a lot of travel circuits around the country, visiting with other teams. They’ve got a long way to go to get their conditioning; I say that every year.”
(On Aqib Talib)
“He made a couple of splash plays today. He’s obviously a very talented player. He’s just got to discipline himself in learning our defense and being able to apply the energy that he needs to apply on a daily basis.”
(On Talib standing out in terms of size)
“Yes he does. He has the measurables that I think everybody’s looking for at that position. He’s long and linear, he’s got quickness and natural coverage ability. I don’t want to say much more than that. He’s still got a long way to go to master the defense, but we have a good start. Between [Defensive Coordinator] Monte [Kiffin] and [Defensive Backs Coach] Raheem [Morris] he’s in good hands, I think.”
(On if there is more of a learning curve for players from small-school programs)
“Oh, I don’t know. You could say that maybe, but for all these guys it’s a big learning curve. Some of these guys are in a spread offense and have never even been in a twoback set. A lot of college football teams we study don’t even use a fullback, so for some of our linebackers to read a two-back set, it’s almost impossible to do. They’ve never done it. So you put it all into perspective. Obviously the level of competition in Division II or Division II or I-AA isn’t quite the caliber as what it is at some other places, but I think it’s all relative.”
(On what the team is looking for from a tryout player like USF WR Amarri Jackson)
“Well obviously we’re looking for a young guy that can make plays, number one. Number two, a guy that has some versatility to help us on special teams and be a guy that can play split end or flanker, a guy that can learn a couple positions. That’s what most guys, backups or young guys, have to do. Along the way, we’d like to see a guy that can reach up, grab the ball and make some plays.”
(On a logjam at receiver)
“I don’t know about the receiving corps, what the logjam is. We’ve got to establish ourselves at that position and it’s wide open right now. Joey Galloway obviously is the starter at split end but we’ve got a lot of competition everywhere else.”
(On Elbert Mack)
“I know he was a real productive guy, he’s quick and he was very overshadowed by [Leodis] McKelvin, maybe for obvious reasons. [McKelvin] was a heck of a player. But this young guy can make plays. In a zone scheme like ours he’s very effective. We think he has some talent.”
(On Tommy Blake)
“We want to just look at him. He’s had some well-documented ups and some well documented downs. But he’s a young guy and we want to look at him for ourselves and try to get all the evaluations done in our minds that we can, and give the kid an opportunity to present himself as a pro football player. We’ll judge our conclusions when we get them.”
(On if he threw the whole playbook at the rookies)
“No, not really. We introduced concepts, our base fronts, some base coverages on defense and some basic principles on offense, running and passing. To try to get 42 or 44 new faces on the same page, just understanding the snap count and getting the centerquarterback exchange can be challenging. But I was pleased with it today. The coaches did a great job getting their guys ready to play. Hopefully we can polish it up a little bit tonight and look better tomorrow.”
(On tryout players not having much time to impress)
“Well, you’re only allowed to have them so many days. We got in late Thursday night, we got them physicals, we got them a little information and we worked them hard today. We’ll try to do the same tomorrow and send them home hopefully a little bit sore. Hopefully we have gotten their attention.”
(On the players being eager to learn)
“There’s some real eagerness. The blend between your veteran players and your young players has always been unique. You’ve got to have a certain chemistry and these young guys have got to fit in. But they are eager to learn – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they say. It’s a little more fun to be around these guys; they’re not quite as grouchy as some of the veterans this time of year.”
Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp begins today and runs through Sunday. All of Tampa Bay’s recently drafted players will be in attendance to give Bucs coaches a closer glimpse of its future players.
Here a list of the undrafted free agents Tampa Bay signed this week:
Chris Clark T 6-5, 290 Southern Miss
Jonathan Hefney S/CB 5-8, 190 Tennessee
Elbert Mack CB 5-10, 168 Troy
Carl Stewart FB 6-1, 230 Auburn
Tyrice Thompson TE 6-5, 220 Arizona State
TAMPA - It turns out there is a trade market for Chris Simms after all. Or maybe we should say there WAS a trade market for Simms.
The Bucs received offers from several teams interested in trading for Simms during last weekend’s draft, including at least two offers from teams willing to give them a sixth-round draft pick and one from a team willing to give them a seventh-round selection for the beleaguered quarterback. Needless to say, no deal was struck.
Why is anyone’s guess, but the likelihood is the Bucs were afraid they would not get true value for Simms. Why take a sixth-round draft pick for Simms when he could be worth a fifth-, fourth- or maybe even third-round selection? The problem, though, is the Bucs may never learn what Simms true trade value is, especially now that they’ve added yet another quarterback to their already crowded stable of them.
The addition of Josh Johnson brought to seven the number of quarterbacks currently on the Bucs roster. With the Bucs planning to take only five to training camp the entire football world knows that at least two will have to lopped off the roster before camp begins. As a result, teams interested in Simms can now simply sit back and wait for him to be released.
There’s a chance, though, that the Bucs will hold onto Simms, possibly even through training camp. After all, they passed on several chances to trade him and Brian Griese during the draft, all while trying to peddle Bruce Gradkowski. It could well be then that the Bucs want Simms to be one of the five quarterback who goes to camp with them this summer.
That may not sit too well with Simms. He’s been working out on his own for months now and he skipped the first round of voluntary workouts last month, seemingly in an effort to get the Bucs to move him. It’s possible, though, that the Bucs see him as being far more valuable to them than Gradkowski or maybe even McCown and now plan to hold on to him, at least for a while.
Whatever the answer, we should know it soon. The Bucs are expected to meet in an effort to try and resolve their crowded quarterback situation just as soon as they are done running their rookies through their paces during this coming weekend’s rookie minicamp. We’re hearing that solving the Simms saga is objective one, so a solution could some sooner rather than later.
TAMPA - Chris Simms may not be the only Bucs quarterback who rival teams have little or no interest in trading for.
The Bucs appear to have at least floated Bruce Gradkowski name in trade talks during last weekend’s draft. Obviously, no one took the bait.
The attempt to move Gradkowski comes as no great surprise. The Bucs have a logjam at the quarterback position that only got worse when they drafted Josh Johnson in the fifth round out of San Diego on Sunday. It’s no great surprise that no one bit on Gradkowski either.
The Bucs were expected to draft another quarterback, thus expanding their glut of them to seven, if you count Jake Plummer. As a result, anyone who really would want Gradkowski, Simms or maybe even Luke McCown knows it will have a shot at them later this summer, when one or more of them is let go.
The Bucs have already said they have plans to bring just five quarterbacks to camp and with Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese and Johnson sure to fill three of those spots, one from the group of Simms, Gradkowski and McCown is likely to be moved before camps opens.
Of course, if the Bucs really wanted to alleviate the logjam they could probably move Griese. Word is the Bucs received several inquiries about Griese’s availability during the draft. The Bucs apparently made it clear, however, that they have no interest in letting Griese get away a second time.
University of South Florida WR Amarri Jackson and offensive linemen Walter Walker and Jared Carnes will attend the Bucs rookie camp Friday through Sunday.
The players will arrive Thursday before the camp begins on Friday.
None of the three have signed a undrafted free agent contract - Jackson told me Sunday night he had signed a free agent deal with the Bucs, but it turns out it was just an invitation to Bucs camp. Players at the camp will include the Bucs’ entire 2008 draft class, plus any undrafted players that have already formalized a deal.
CB Mike Jenkins (first round, Dallas), CB Trae Williams (fifth round, Jacksonville) and LB Ben Moffitt (free agent, Houston) also will be in NFL camps, giving USF six former Bulls in NFL camps.
USF DL Richard Clebert is still in the process of working out a free agent deal. He’s considering Oakland, Miami and Minnesota.
Aqib Talib explained his name was Muslim and meant “The Last To Come” when asked about its origins during his first press conference as a Buccaneer this morning.
When he posed for pictures with Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden, the coach joked “That name means good corner, I hope.”
Tampa Bay has high hopes for Talib after selecting him 20th overall (1st round) in the NFL Draft. Talib is the player expected to eventually replace Tampa Bay Pro Bowl cornerback Ronde Barber after he retires.
Talib is the highest cornerback ever selected by Tampa Bay. He also is only the second defensive back Tampa Bay has ever drafted in the first round.
“I’m so excited to be a Buccaneer,” Talib said. “I thank coach [Gruden] for taking me and Mr. [Bruce] Allen for taking me. It’s just wonderful, a dream come true for me, an honor to be able to start my NFL career with this team, with this defense. Having a chance to be around Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, guys like that. It’s an honor for me.”
Although Talib might be Barber’s heir apparent, he planned to stay silent in Tampa Bay’s meeting rooms and learn from the All-Pro cornerback.
“I watch football, pay attention to all the corners in the league and Ronde Barber is one that I pay attention to,” Talib said. “His name comes up when my friends and me start talking about the best corners in the league.”
Talib arrived in Tampa Sunday night around 11 after being delayed in Texas. Bucs defensive back coach Raheem Morris picked Talib up from Tampa International Airport last night before taking him to his hotel room.
After a brief rest, Talib was all smiles during while speaking to the Tampa Bay media. He even played receiver at Kansas and joked about playing both ways here.
“It’s been all smiles for me,” Talib said. “I don’t need sleep. I don’t need nothing. It’s just a dream come true for me. I don’t want to wake up.”
Talib (6-foot-1 and 205 pounds) ranks second in Kansas history with 13 career interceptions and first in school history with 322 yards via interception returns. In 34 career games, Talib recorded 162 tackles, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and 43 passes defensed. He also caught nine passes for 224 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver.
Now “The Last To Come” is ready to reward Tampa Bay for chosing him first.
“We played kind of a Tampa 2 [defense], a form of the Tampa 2 in Kansas, so I got experience playing Cover 2,” Talib said. “I know that’s the base coverage here, so I think it will be all right. I think it’s a great situation for me.”
University of South Florida WR Amarri Jackson and LB Ben Moffitt never heard their names called during Sunday’s NFL Draft, but their NFL hopes are still very much alive.
Jackson said Sunday night he signed a free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Bucs and will report to the team Thursday, while Moffitt signed with the Houston Texans.
Along with CB Mike Jenkins (first round, Dallas) and CB Trae Williams (fifth round, Jacksonville), the Bulls will have at least four rookies in NFL camps.
GENERAL MANAGER BRUCE ALLEN
(Opening statement)
“We are pleased with the way the draft turned out today and yesterday. If you look at our draft it is very unusual, in the fact that we filled a need in every position of our football team. We got an offensive lineman, we got a defensive lineman, we got a defensive back, we got a quarterback, we got a running back, and a receiver. At all the key positions on a football team, we got someone we think will come in and help us compete. Obviously, we feel good with the kicking situation, we didn’t do that.”
(On why they chose a quarterback)
“We like the talent of Josh. He has not good statistics, not great statistics, he has spectacular statistics. He has been coached by coaches that we are very familiar with, Johnnie Morton has said some very positive things about him, and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has said some great things about him. We want to give him a chance to see what he can do in the NFL.”
(On what this means for Simms and Gradkowski)
“I have said to you before, and I will say it again, we will bring five quarterbacks to training camp. That is what we planned on doing and that is what we will do. How that works out, we have until July 25th to go to training camp, we will make those determinations.”
(On getting the guys that they wanted)
“We were fortunate. There is always a gamble when you trade down. We traded up once to make sure we got Dre Moore, and we got the guys that we wanted.”
(On adding speed)
“There are very few players that will add what we already have. If you look at this draft we did add Michael Bennett in the sixth round, and I don’t know other than the young man from East Carolina that there is a running back faster. We have Joey Galloway and I don’t know if there is anyone faster in this draft than Joey Galloway. Dexter Jackson will give this team what coach likes to refer to as juice. So we feel that we did add to it. Cory Boyd is a very productive running back, and that is what we like on this football team.”
(On if he made a promise to Mike Jenkins)
“No. First of all there were other people at the dinner that can confirm that. I would never tell anyone I was going to draft them. When we drafted Carnell Williams at number five, he didn’t know. When we drafted Gaines Adams at number four, he didn’t know. You know why, because during the draft everything changes. Quite specifically, no one can count on anything on draft day. Derrick Harvey did not expect to go where he did to the Jacksonville Jaguars on draft day. That doesn’t happen and I would never do that.”
(On why they chose Aqib Talib)
“We like him. He is a playmaker, he has all the speed and agility that you are looking for. He has great ball skills and his persona fit into our organization. We think he is a guy that can excel in our defense and help our football team.”
(On Talib’s off-field issues)
“It is not only our discussions with him, which were extremely positive, and when you meet the young man tomorrow you are going to like him, it is his coaches that stand by him 100 percent. It is also his teammates, as you know we talk to teammates. That is one of the things that we spend an extraordinary time on is talking to all the players on the team to find out who is the best teammate, and everyone spoke very highly of him.”
(On where the team shifts its focus now that the draft is over)
“We are shifting our focus to the undrafted free agents right now. After that, there are players that we are having dialogue with about doing contract extensions that we feel can be a key component to our future.”
(On if QB Jeff Garcia is a player who might get an extension)
“I have had dialogue with his representative.”
(On the team)
“We can live with this situation. We feel like we have a good core of players here that will help us this year. We really like the core of the players that are going to help us down the road. Jeff’s performance last year was one of the keys to us winning the division, there’s no doubt about it. That’s why he has a contract for this season. We will deal with those things at the appropriate time.”
(On the wide receiver group)
“It was interesting. We must have had the same grades as everyone in the league. It was a very unique year at that position. I think because so many of them had that similar grade is probably why so many went in the second round. It seemed like quite a few went in the second round. That’s where they had everyone clumped together, and you had to make sure you got your receiver that fit the specifics of what you were looking for.”
HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
(Opening statement)
“Just to sum up our draft, we started today taking Jeremy Zuttah, an offensive lineman out of Rutgers. A guy that played tackle, he is also a guy that we think has a lot of versatility. We are really excited about Jeremy Zuttah. A big defensive lineman that really impressed us, Dre Moore. Quarterback Josh Johnson, from a smaller school in California, a very productive athletic guy. Geno Hayes, a linebacker out of FSU. Who has versatility as a weakside linebacker, as a middle linebacker. We think he is going to grow and be a fine football player; he is a contact guy with range. We just finished our draft with Cory Boyd, a big back, a runner that excelled at South Carolina. So most of our coaches will have a new player to coach. We will fly in all of our rookie players and some free agents for our mini-camp this weekend. We are excited with the draft.”
(On where G Jeremy Zuttah fits in the offensive line)
“You are only allowed to have seven guys most of the time active on Sunday. Whoever the sixth and seventh man are, have to have versatility. We lost John Wade, we lost Matt Lehr, two centers, you know we lost Luke Petitgout for 12 games, and Arron Sears got hurt on the first play at Carolina. You have to have that sixth and seventh guy that is capable of playing tackle and guard or guard and center, and Zuttah we think can do that. Great test score, great football demeanor, football IQ, tough as heck, and we think he can play tackle, guard or center. That is why we were very ecstatic to see him there towards the end of the third round. He will add to our group a good bit.”
(On DT Dre Moore)
“I really like the size, a middle push, a middle pass rusher, a guy we think that can collapse the pocket. When he is on, he is really on, he is a flash player. Didn’t play a lot of high school football, a late starter if you will. When you watch the Senior Bowl, individually you can see tremendous talent. I think he is a good kid, and he can give us a different dimension inside in terms of size. He is a long, linear guy with power. He can chase, he can run extremely well for a big guy. He has a tremendous upside if we can get it all out of him.”
(On QB Josh Johnson)
“He is a late fifth-round pick, and we did a lot of work on the quarterbacks. You can’t deny that he comes from a small college. You certainly can’t deny that he was very productive, he dominated statistically. 115 touchdown passes and15 interceptions, 68 or 69 completion percentage, and 2,000 yards rushing. When you do the individual make up of this kid you see a 6-3, 215-pound youngster that has 4.5 speed. I think he is a heck of a kid. Some of the coaches at San Diego I am familiar with, they were on my staff in Oakland, and so we have known a lot about this kid for some time. Is he the quarterback of the future, I don’t know, but he will compete and he will be very interesting.”
(On the offense gaining explosiveness)
“Well you can’t just look at the draft. We added Warrick Dunn, he has 10,000 yards, I saw him playing, he is getting older but I still see great quickness. We are hoping Cadillac Williams comes back; he is in the bullpen right now. We think Ben Troupe can do some things athletically. We have a Pro Bowl quarterback here. Our offensive line is going to be older and more experienced. I think Antonio Bryant can come through, Michael Clayton comes back, I guess that is it. I make no promises in April, I will just tell you this, and we are very enthused. We are adding a 4.3 wide receiver that has home run potential and legitimate return ability. We are excited with Talib, we think he is going to make life interesting on the other side of the ball.”
(On if he’ll take six quarterbacks to training camp)
“No, we won’t take six to camp. There will be obvious decisions that’ll be made. There’s been a lot of people saying we’ve had six quarterbacks. I haven’t seen [Jake] Plummer, and Chris [Simms] unfortunately hasn’t played in the last couple of years. We have had a tremendous amount of injury. We’re not like some of these teams that have enjoyed good fortune of having the same starter for five, six, eight, 12, 15 seasons. We’ve had three different starters play, I think, in four out of the last five seasons. Here in Tampa, we have a different perspective, I think, on the position, but we do have a Pro Bowl returner at quarterback, and we’re really excited about [Jeff] Garcia. We think [Brian] Griese’s proven he can play here, and if statistics mean anything, he’s backed that up. Luke McCown came on last year and did some good things, so here comes a youngster in here. Bruce [Allen] will address that with you here shortly. The roster is reduced. You’re only allowed to take 80 to camp now, so there’ll be some very difficult decisions on every coach in the league before camp starts.”
(On Geno Hayes)
“We haven’t even had a mini-camp yet. We want to go into training camp and have a mentality that you better have seven or eight or nine pretty good linebackers. We play four preseason games. We saw a couple of our guys go down last year in the preseason, guys like Antoine Cash and [Sam] Olajubutu, before we played a game. There’s a lot to be decided yet. I will say this though – he can run, he can hit and he’s 20 years old and he’s had some real good experience at a high level at a place where they’re relatively famous for producing linebackers. So we’re excited to put him in the same room with Derrick [Brooks] and Barrett [Ruud] and Cato [June] and see what happens.”
(On Jeremy Zuttah’s position and possibly switching Jeremy Trueblood to left tackle)
“There’s been some thought of that. Jeremy’s been comfortable over there. At this point in time we’re pretty excited about the return of Luke Petitgout. We’re optimistic, according to Todd Toriscelli’s information. Donald Penn is a young guy that did some good things. Zuttah has the capacity to back up [Jeff] Faine, to become the backup center, become the backup right guard/left guard and possibly a tackle. So we’re going to zoom in on where and how we do this starting this weekend, but the plan right now is to leave Jeremy at right tackle.”
(On Doug Williams’ influence on picking QB Josh Johnson)
“Doug has been in my ear about Josh for awhile and we don’t want to make any predictions. We have a long way to go. But Doug is very good at evaluating players and seeing what is going to happen in the next couple of years in this environment. He’s confident that we have an environment here, with Garcia, Griese, some veteran guys, with Doug walking around the building and guys like Greg Olson to help him, and the fact that he doesn’t have to get rushed into playing right away. We have a chance to do some things with this kid, over time, if he does what he’s supposed to do with the ball and makes good decisions.”
(On if Johnson is more of a project than Chad Henne and Brian Brohm)
“Those guys played in the big Division I, they played in a higher level of competition, but they also had pretty good players around them. I’m not saying San Diego didn’t have a lot of good players, but until you do it at the next level, you will be subject to question. It will be a faster pace. He will be hit harder than he has ever been hit and he’ll be challenged more than he has ever been challenged. He dominated at his level because of his talent. But he is going to be at a level playing field now and I’m anxious to see how he handles it.”
Tampa Bay has never shied away from a player who comes in with baggage and the selection of FSU linebacker Geno Hayes is another example.
Below is a story about Hayes that ran last season. In addition, he played in the 2007 Music City Bowl, but it was later revealed Hayes was not enrolled in school.
Saturday September 22, 2007
SPORTS
FSU’s Hayes, Surratt Arrested After Incident Outside Bar
PLAYERS RELEASED ON BAIL, SUSPENDED FROM TEAM
By SCOTT CARTER and DANIELA VELÁZQUEZ
The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com
TALLAHASSEE - Florida State starting linebacker Geno Hayes was Tasered by police and arrested, along with fullback Joe Surratt after an altercation outside a Tallahassee bar early Friday morning.
Both were suspended by the team until a review of the case, in keeping with the school’s student-athlete code of conduct, FSU athletic director Dave Hart said.
Surratt, 21, was charged with a felony count of battery on an officer and misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. Hayes, 20, faces three misdemeanor charges of assault on an officer, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly conduct.
The two were taken to Leon County Jail and released after Hayes posted a $1,250 bail and Surratt $1,750.
Tallahassee police spokesman David McCranie said the incident happened about 1:45 a.m. Friday.
According to McCranie and police reports, two officers saw Hayes without a shirt on, trying to get inside Potbellys, a bar near FSU’s campus. Quarterback Drew Weatherford and other friends were trying to keep Hayes, who was “screaming profanities and waving his hands wildly,” from going back inside, McCranie said.
A bar employee told police Hayes had been involved in an “altercation” at the bar, and his friends were trying to take him home.
Officer Michael Malafronte tried to calm Hayes, but McCranie said Hayes broke free from his friends and ran toward the officer with his fists clenched and yelling threats.
Hayes, down on the ground while Malafronte and Officer Michael Petroczky tried to arrest him, tried to stand up, McCranie said, and Malafronte shot the linebacker with his Taser. As the officers were attempting to handcuff Hayes, Surratt ran toward them with an aircast on his right leg, McCranie said. They told him to back away but he wouldn’t, McCranie said.
Petroczky then pushed Surratt, who fell to the ground. As the officer tried to arrest him, Surratt hit him in the face, cutting Petroczky in the lower lip, McCranie said.
Hayes is considered FSU’s most talented linebacker and the only starting linebacker who returned this year.
Surratt, FSU’s starting fullback most of last season, fractured his right leg in a scrimmage last month and isn’t expected to play until midseason at the earliest.
Florida State has a bye this week.
“We are continuing to gather facts related to the circumstances,” Hart said.
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