The Bucs’ bust-in-waiting Josh Freeman spoke on WDAE-AM shortly after Abbott and Costello made one of the dumbest draft picks in recent Bucs history. Below is a transcript.

“Coach told me to come back to Tampa. I’m really excited.

“We had a good relationship for sure [at Kansas State]. He was the defensive coordinator but he still helped me out. We had competition in practice. He ran the defense and I tried to beat it. He understood what kind of a person, player and competitor I am and what kind of a football player I am. I’m really happy to come to the Buccaneers.

“When I first decided to enter the draft, people said I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I remember Mike Mayock saying I would be drafted in the third round if I was lucky. Other teams told me I was a second or third round quarterback, maybe a mid-second or late first. I took it upon myself to show them what kind of a player I can be. I’m glad the Buccaneers saw it.”

What about the reputation of Big XII quarterbacks?

“If you lined us up on the same level playing field, I would come out on top. They are all tremendous football players but because my team’s record was not the best I got written off.

“Definitely there was one team that stuck out. I was leaving the stadium and I wanted to play there at all costs and it was the Bucs. Former NFL players told me, don’t get your hopes on one team so I tried to not do that but when I visited Tampa, I would be really upset if I didn’t get a chance to play for the Buccaneers. It all worked out.”