Who’s going to start at tight end for the Bucs? Luke Stocker surely is a favorite. Joe caught up with Stocker yesterday to ask him about his reworked body and more.

JoeBucsFan.com: Mark Dominik was impressed by you putting on 20 pounds this offseason. Why’d you do it and what did you do?

Stocker: Yeah, I bulked up. I got to the point where I was 275. And I felt like I was a little too heavy out here moving around, so I actually cut some weight. I’m about 268-267 right now, feeling real good, moving well, and probably in the best shape I’ve been since I’ve been here.

Joe: Is that something the team asked you to do?

Stocker: No. You know, it really wasn’t something I was consciously making an effort for. I knew I wanted to get in the weight room and bigger, stronger and faster. That’s kind of the result of it, just working hard in the offseason.

Joe: The competition at tight end this season, what do you make of it? What can you tell fans about that?

Stocker: You’ve got a bunch of guys here that have been in the league a few years, who just can’t wait to make the opportunity for themselves. Myself, Crabtree, Zach Miller, guys like that are really trying to establish themselves in the league and want to get an opportunity to start. The Bucs are putting the competition on the line for all three of us to push for that job. So it’s a good opportunity for all of us.

Joe: Where do you think your game has evolved most this offseason and in general?

Stocker: In the past two years I’ve been utilized as a blocker in the offense. And I think this offseason I really concentrated on being more of a passing threat and pass catcher. And I’ve really made some steps in that direction.

Joe: Is there something you did? Did you work out with any quarterbacks?

Stocker: Definitely. Me and Josh [Freeman] and Dan [Orlovsky], we all got together several times and caught passes just trying to build that chemistry and accumulate reps.