What To Expect From Shaun Wilson
August 17th, 2018
Getting noticed. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
If “Hard Knocks” was still filming the daily happenings of the Bucs during training camp this summer, the annual diamond-in-the-rough storyline just might go to undrafted rookie free agent Shaun Wilson.
The 5-9, 185-pound running back just screams “underdog.” He totaled over 1,000 from the line of scrimmage in his final season at Duke last year, averaging 5.0 yards a carry and 7.3 yards a catch.
Wilson has been hurt early in training camp and is just now getting into the swing of things. Yesterday in the second of a two-day joint practice with the Titans in Nashville, Wilson may have broken out. He certainly caught the attention of Bucs coach Dirk Koetter.
“He’s looking sharp,” Koetter said. “Obviously you don’t like to see a guy miss time when he’s banged up, but Shaun should get his first action Saturday night and we’re excited to see what he can do.”
Pretty glowing words from Koetter for a rookie who has had limited practice time.
It will be interesting to see what Wilson can do against the Titans. Just to look ahead to next month when the Bucs have to shave their roster down to the final-53 on Sept. 1, the Bucs kept four running backs last year to open the season (Doug Martin was serving a suspension and initially his roster spot did not count).
Clearly Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones will be kept. Joe suspects the No. 3 back will be Charles Sims. Koetter likes him and he did lead the Bucs in YAC last season (yes, really) and led Bucs running backs with 4.5 yards-per-carry average (yes, really).
So Joe is going to take an educated guess and suggest if Wilson earned a roster spot, provided the Bucs keep just four backs, Wilson would have to beat out versatile, reliable Jacquizz Rodgers.
Last year, only Martin had a worse yards-per-carry average than Rodgers. Koetter and Rodgers have a history that dates back to their Atlanta days.
Of course, if a guy is going to be a No. 4 running back, Wilson has to be a stud on special teams.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:13 am
Bye bye Twinkle-Toes-Speed in Space…..Tedford relic.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:20 am
Hope Shaun runs back a kickoff for a touchdown and gets a lot of yards running and catching the ball during the game.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:22 am
Only Shaun can take over Rojo’s role if he is hurt or fumbles too often!
August 17th, 2018 at 9:23 am
Joshua Jackson- CB- LSU- drafted by the Panthers. 4.3 speed.
Isaiah Oliver- CB- Colorado- drafted by the Falcons- 4.4 speed.
MJ Stewart- 4.55
Carlton Davis- 4.55
@joe
We could have had Jackson and Oliver.
We will need to follow their careers closely to see who picked the right players.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:26 am
Rodgers is at !.6 mil…..Sims at 1.0……not sure of guarantees….I’m not so sure Rodgers will be the one cut…..after all, they let Sims go once already.
I’m not sure Wilson would last on the PS.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:31 am
If Wilson makes the team(sounds like there is a good chance he will) I would think Sims is the guy that gets cut. I doubt Sims would get picked up by another team so if the Bucs had any injuries at the position later in the season they could resign him then.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Duke kid. Keep’EM. We need all the brains we can get.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:37 am
Tbbf
Bucs need talent and wins not the cheapest damn roster in history. Bucs have spent 40 years out of 42 counting pennies and have only 1 decent season to show for it. You need to focous on talent not dollars everydayp. Fear lising not salaried
As for topic. Koetter is too stubborn to give wilson a shot. Koetter will roll with the sameccareer losers and seal another basement title for Glazer clowns.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:41 am
Teacher
Josh Jackson was drafted by Green Bay. And no we couldn’t have drafted him.
Not to mention mj and Davis have already been flashing more than both those players.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:43 am
Jackson did have a pick 6 last night though. But still impossible to have gotten him.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:54 am
If he’s more versatile….and cheaper, he’ll beat out Rodgers. Its the #4 spot in the depth chart….a rookie cost about 1/3rd the cost when you factor in the various benefits the players get after 3 credited seasons. The Glazers are very much dialed into the bottom line.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:58 am
You must be referring to donte Jackson. He could be good. But I like our guys.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:58 am
Joes comment “Joe suspects the No. 3 back will be Charles Sims” I think this is just wrong. Sims spend more time juking then running he is more a wide receiver then a running back and that is being generous. Sims is afraid of getting hit. He hates contact. If Sims stays on this team that would mean we have a depth issue at RB
August 17th, 2018 at 10:03 am
I’m sorry, but still not thrilled with our stable of RBs as a whole. Out of a group of 4 RBs, I’d like to see some redundancy as well as for them to complement each other. Since Joe would likely get rid of Jacquizz, who’d fill Peyton Barber’s role as lead dog if he got injured for any period of time? RoJo? Nope. Sims? Doubt it. Wilson if we keep him? Not likely. How about pass blocking? RoJo? Nope. Wilson? Doubt it. Sims? Ya, more than likely he’d become our premier pass blocking RB if Barber went down. Our problem is that we have RBs who are complementary, but there’s little redundancy. We NEED another relatively big back (should’ve drafted Bo Scarborough). Let’s all hope Barber stays healthy.
I suspect that IF Wilson makes the team, it’ll be as a return specialist. Also suspect he’d be the 5th RB kept (Koetter will keep Rodgers for redundancy, unless Licht signs someone else). Until Game 4 that is, when Jameis comes back from suspension then Wilson will be placed on the PS. Bucs have some REALLY TOUGH decisions to make before Sept 1st as to who they’ll keep on the 53-man roster.
August 17th, 2018 at 10:14 am
Never wrote that. Wrote that if Wilson makes the team, it may be at Rodgers’ expense.
August 17th, 2018 at 10:24 am
rodgers is nothing more than a mediocre backup. you can’t win with the guy that’s been proven for 3 years…. no fanbase falls in love with bad to mediocre players like the bucs fan base. stop being loyal to career losers and start demanding on-field results from the glazer clowns.
August 17th, 2018 at 10:48 am
Rodgers has played in three playoff games. Name another Bucs running back who has played in just one.
August 17th, 2018 at 11:06 am
Joe
How is that relevant considering the entire organization has not played a meaningful game in nearly 2 decades
Bucs need talented winners not mediocre backups, choirboys and good mentors. Talented Winners period
August 17th, 2018 at 11:23 am
Haven’t we seen enough of Sims?! He must have dirt on Koetter or something! After re-watching the Miami game I cannot, for the life of me, understand what they see in that guy!
If Wilson can make the team, I’m all for it.
We should’ve drafted Bo Scarborough for added power. Seems like we have 1 power-back and 3 scat-back clones.
August 17th, 2018 at 11:42 am
You — not Joe — was calling Rodgers a loser.
August 17th, 2018 at 11:52 am
Agree with DR
No real “backup” not one with any size…That can’t be good. I just look at all the 1-2 punches in our division alone, and we can’t get a really good “1” as of yet.
Maybe Barber and Jones will pan out to be that, but if either gets hurt we are woefully thin. Unless Shaun Wilson is the next coming of W. Dunn
August 17th, 2018 at 11:56 am
If Rojo can’t catch the ball or block, then Sims is safe.
August 17th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
I could see either sims or quizz being the last one out. Sims brings some different skills but you have to think that if barber goes down that Quizz can carry the load as feature back better than sims.
August 17th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
If RoJo can’t catch a pass or block, why did we take him in the 2nd round ???
August 17th, 2018 at 2:37 pm
They could get rid of Sims and replace him with anyone.
August 17th, 2018 at 4:57 pm
from what I understand, Sims is a core special teamed, Rodgers isn’t. As a 3rd or 4th RB that is a must. That being said, Rodgers can do what Sims does but Sims can’t necessarily do what Rodgers does.
August 17th, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Rodgers is a great 3rd down back. (Stats with Atlanta prove that, and he’s caught ball with Bucs too.) He’s also the best blocker among ALL of the RBs! And has proven to be a decent lead back when called upon. In 2016 he had the starting job and looked great until injured against Raiders, on his way to his 3rd consecutive 100 yard game. Looked decent last year as starter, getting game ball against Giants, and then Koetter just dismissed him, practically. He’s a pretty good return guy as well. How can you just cut him. He’s better than Sims, that’s for sure. And I’m not so sure Barber is a step up from him.
August 17th, 2018 at 6:31 pm
Rodgers is a great 3rd down back. (Stats with Atlanta prove that, and he’s caught ball with Bucs too.) He’s also the best blocker among ALL of the RBs! And has proven to be a decent lead back when called upon. In 2016 he had the starting job and looked great until injured against Raiders, on his way to his 3rd consecutive 100 yard game. Looked decent last year as starter, getting game ball against Giants, and then Koetter just dismissed him, practically. He’s a pretty good return guy as well. How can you just cut him. He’s better than Sims, that’s for sure. And I’m not so sure Barber is a step up from him.
August 17th, 2018 at 6:40 pm
I have a theory why they like Sims! Sims looks awesome in practice because they do not hit the RB in practice. Sims Hates just hates to be Hit!!!!!!!
Have you ever seen Sims fal forward when being tackled. Of course not. Soon as Simms sees the first defender in a game situation. He immediately stops running and does the Sims shuffle. The dance goes like this. Stop lean to the left lean to the right lean back to the left lean back to the right lean back to the left oh no get tackled. Sims hates getting hit. Watch the games he never instigates any contact. at most he will dive forward to the ground if he is lucky
August 19th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
teacherman777 Says:
August 17th, 2018 at 9:23 am
Joshua Jackson- CB- LSU- drafted by the Panthers. 4.3 speed.
Isaiah Oliver- CB- Colorado- drafted by the Falcons- 4.4 speed.
MJ Stewart- 4.55
Carlton Davis- 4.55
@joe
We could have had Jackson and Oliver.
We will need to follow their careers closely to see who picked the right players
________________________
#1. Being good at football trumps being a good at running
#2. Fake news- Jackson ran an official 4.48 and Oliver 4.50. Davis was 4.52 and Stewart 4.54. Nearly imperceptible differences. Ronde Barber was 4.63 and Brian Kelly 4.55 FYI