Sleeper edge rusher? He talked to the Bucs — and to Joe.

If there is an area of need on defense, it is still a friggin’ edge rush.

Yes, Joe loves, absolutely loves the passion and fire of Noah Spence and he showed promise. Playing with one arm is what legends are made of, but after offseason shoulder surgery, how will he respond?

Jacquies Smith simply cannot stay healthy and frankly is undependable. Will Gholston is a fantastic run-stopper but he is average at best as a pass rusher.

So, yeah, the Bucs still need an edge rush and it is annoying beyond words how this Bucs franchise has p!ssed away the cream of Gerald McCoy’s career by letting him twist in the wind without more help.

So on the day at the NFL combine when defensive linemen had their media availability, Joe began asking defensive ends if they had spoken to the Bucs. And Joe found one, Carroll Phillips of Illinois. He told Joe he had spoken to Bucs officials a few times.

So Joe, along with a few other reporters, did a Q&A with the Miami native who played his final year at Illinois for former Bucs coach Lovie Smith.

Q. How did Lovie Smith help you in your development? In your first couple of years at Illinois you did OK but this year [Smith’s first year at Illinois] you blew up. Is there a connection with your increased numbers and Lovie taking over?

A. I always had the ability, I just never had the opportunity to make the plays and get in the game. When Lovie came, I just took advantage of the opportunity and did what I had to do. [Lovie] is a role model.

Q. So, you just needed an opportunity to show your skill set in a game?

A. Yes sir.

Q. What did Lovie do that helped you out or was there something he taught you that you said, “OK, this will help me out. This will help me advance to the NFL?”

A. How to be a pro. How to be an NFL player. He came in with an NFL style and an NFL scheme. He brought that to the program which showed me how to be a pro.

Q. Can you give an example or two on how to be a pro?

A. First of all, we practiced how they practice in the NFL. It was also what he expected in practice and in the games.

Q. Intense?

A. Yeah, intense. But [Lovie taught players how to be a pro] on and off the field. He really showed us how to be a pro.

Q. When you talk about practice, was it a completely different set up than it was under Tim Beckman [previous Illinois coach]?

A. Spring ball [for example] everybody had two-a-days, we had one practice a day. More walk-throughs and more film.

Q. So it was more of a mental approach?

A. Yeah, more [of a focus on] mental than anything.

Q. So that didn’t happen with Beckman?

A. No, with Beckman, we had two-a-days. We had to buckle up all the time.

Q. Do teams see you as a 43 SAM or a 34 OLB?

A. I can stand-up end, I can rush-end. I can play in a two-point and drop back into coverage. I can rush off the edge.

Q. Do you think you can play linebacker in a 34?

A. Yes sir, I could.

Q. Have teams talked to you about that?

A. Yeah. I can stand up in a two-point and drop back into coverage. I am a player.

Q. What feedback do you get from teams that is your best trait?

A. My speed and quickness off the edge. They like how I play aggressive. That’s my style of play.

Q. What do they say you need to work on?

A. Shedding blocks. Getting off blocks faster. Have more of a battle of hands so I can make more plays.

Q. Can that be accomplished by just working out and building yourself up a little bit?

A. Yeah, it is easily accomplished. Anyone has room for improvement and that is an area I need improvement.

Q. Now if you have to self-critique, what do you think you need to work on?

A. Just what those guys told me. I know I need to work on that. And the run the defense.

Q. From your feedback from coaches, at this stage of your game, do you think you are more of a specialist as far as just being a rush specialist?

A. I wouldn’t say a “rush specialist.” I am an every-down player.

Q. With all the coaching changes last year at Illinois, how were you able to adapt right away?

A. Well, the level of what everybody expected. Coach Lovie came in with an NFL defense. I am meeting with NFL guys now. How we practiced and everything. He taught me how to be a pro and what NFL teams would be expecting.

Q. Did the walk-throughs instead of two-a-days help keep you fresh?

A. Yeah, it helped stay fresh. Even after the games Saturday, we would come in Sunday and run, watch film, stuff like that. That kept our bodies fresh. Mondays, we were off on Mondays [like NFL teams have film studies on the day after a game on Mondays and off Tuesdays].

Q. Have the Bucs talked to you?

A. Yes. I just got through talking to the Bucs. I have talked to them two or three times.

Q. How has playing in the Big Ten Conference prepared you for the NFL?

A. I mean I went against a lot of good players and a lot of good offensive linemen. Lot of good running backs and quarterbacks. It has prepared me a lot for what I will be seeing in the NFL.

Q. With Lovie and a lot of his staff coming in with so much NFL experience, did that help get you prepared to be an NFL player?

A. It helped us in a major way. Now we know what to expect from an NFL team or from NFL coaches.

Q. Did Lovie sit you guys down and talk to you specifically about it or was it stuff you picked up over the course of a season?

A. Stuff we picked up over the course of a season. When he first came in.

Q. What are teams talking about you playing?

A. A rush linebacker, some defensive end. I can stand up and put my hand in the dirt. A stand-up and defensive end. I love that, stand-up. But in Lovie’s defense, I always had my hand in the dirt.

Q. What are some games that you had, if someone said they wanted to look at a gametape, what are some games you had that you could say, “If you want to see me excel, look at such-and-such a game.” What game or games would that be?

A. Iowa. Minnesota, those types of games,

Q. Now are there some offensive linemen you went up against that people would recognize that you had some success against?

A. Yeah, Stephen Spanellis of Michigan.

Q. And what did you do so well against him?

A. He is big, wide, long strong arms…

Q. Oh, a typical Big Ten lineman?

A. … Yeah! If [Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight] wasn’t so fast, I probably would have gotten a sack every [passing] down.

Q. What was the most difficult offensive line you have faced? Was it Wisconsin, Iowa?

A. The guy at Wisconsin, Ryan Ramczyk. He’s a good guy.

Q. What did he do that made it so difficult?

A. Well, I guess I didn’t watch too much film on him and he kind of got the best of me.

Q. Is there player in the NFL who you try to pattern yourself after or you can point to and say, “Hey, this guy plays like I do.”

A. Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Bruce Irving.

Q. What do you like about Von Miller?

A. How he gets after the ball. Where the ball moves, he moves. He likes making plays in the backfield. He is the sackmaster.

Q. What kind of player can you be in the NFL?

A. I can be a great player. I can be a Von Miller-type guy.

Q. What is your nickname?

A. Wildman.

Q. Why is that?

A. I had that nickname ever since Little League football. I guess I was hitting kids hard and the whole park started calling me “Wildman.” That has been my nickname ever since.

Q. Do you know Uncle Luke? [Rapper Luther Campbell who organizes youth football leagues in Miami inner-city neighborhoods].

A. He had his own park, Liberty City Park. So [his teams] used to come up and play us. He’s mad I never played [with his teams]. He is a great coach. He is a linebacker coach, he is a great coach, he is a rapper.

Q. Why were you a wild man out there?

A. I like to hit. I played D-end and I like to hit.

Q. You were making those little kids cry?

A. Yeah. [Laughs]

A couple of things that intrigue Joe about Phillips. First is, he seems like a late bloomer. Once he got playing time, he started to produce. That’s good to see.

Second, Phillips said he can play outside linebacker in a 34 and an edge rusher in a 43 defense. Joe has a hunch Mike Smith might like to incorporate more of a 34 front at times this year, and if that is the case, then Phillips’ versatility would be a nice fit (remember, newcomer Chris Baker did play some defensive end in a 34 front for the Redskins).