Highlights Of Day 2 Bucs Rookie Minicamp
May 11th, 2024
Rookie minicamp notes
This time Joe was prepared.
Yesterday at Bucs minicamp, Joe was not warned the Bucs got rid of the awning on the back patio of One Buc Palace that lined the practice fields. Zero shade.
“This Joe” has had enough skin cancer surgeries, especially a couple of gnarly carving sessions of late. Joe loves ya, but not that much! Joe’s not going to get more surgeries for rookie minicamp, sorry.
Today, Joe was prepared. Mostly. Still, halfway through the open photo-video session, Joe’s iPhone locked up for too high of temperature. That was a first. So yeah, it was toasty.
It was a short practice with limited offense vs. defense sessions. But here are highlights along with other things that grabbed Joe’s attention.
* Dudes hitting blocking sleds don’t do much for Joe so Joe rarely pays attention to this unless a photo is being taken. While watching something else, Joe noticed someone absolutely tossing a sled that made a loud racket. Joe assumes this sled had to weigh over 200 pounds the way guys were not moving the sled, even in underwear football. (The sled pads were shaped like a lineman with his arms stretched out.) That’s why Joe took notice quickly. Turns out it was Elijah Klein. This elicited hollering, in a good way, from offensive line coach Kevin Carberry. “Good, good — that’s good!” Another time Klein hit the same sled Joe heard Carberry say, “There you go, good!”
* In an offensive session vs. air, Joe saw running back Bucky Irving catching a lot of short passes over the middle and receiver Jalen McMillan catching passes down the left sideline.
* Joe isn’t sure whose fault it was but the end result was pretty dang good. Irving ran sort of an up-and-slant in from the left side. Joe doesn’t know if he ran a bad route or if camp meat/tryout quarterback Michael Hiers (Bobby Bowden University) threw a bad pass. But the ball was way high and wide to the inside of Irving. Didn’t matter. Irving made a quick adjustment, reached up and plucked the ball out of the air. Nice catch, son.
* Klein is playing right guard. File that away for future reference. A harbinger of offensive line shuffling?
* Ugh. Irving runs up the middle.
* Though it is underwear football and dudes aren’t supposed to hit, edger rusher Chris Braswell stood out only because he looked like a man. He went man-on against a tackle from a two-point stance and stiff-armed him out of the play, shedding the attempted block quickly.
* Tight end Hunter Campmoyer (Oregon) skied for a pass down the right seam from Jeremy Moussa (Florida A&M). Couldn’t come down with it.
* Moussa tries a pass over the middle, maybe a little to the left and linebacker B.J. Davis (East Carolina) jumped, reached back and, picked the ball off. He raced to the left side of the field housing the play. Pick-six! Very athletic play. Joe would bring this guy back for training camp just for this play alone.
* Receiver Letreal Jones (Southern Miss) catches a long pass from Moussa down the right sideline.
* He’s back: Tight end Tanner Taula, who was in Bucs training camp last year, pulls in a pass over the right seam from Moussa in traffic.
* McMillan catches a bullet from Moussa down the right seam.
* Outside linebacker Daniel Grzesiak (Cincinnati) makes a play on the ball but drops a pick.
* Irving snares a pass over the middle.
* Hiers tries to squeeze a pass into Cephus Johnson III (Southeastern Louisiana) but corner Chris McDonald (Toledo) broke it up.
* He’s back II: receiver Ryan Miller, who was in Bucs training camp last year, skies really high to try to haul in a pass from Hiers but couldn’t quite hang on.
* Irving with a catch over the middle.
* Ouch: McMillan dove for a pass down the left seam and landed awkwardly on the ground. Joe thought maybe he did something to his shoulder initially. McMillan didn’t get up for a moment and when he did, he slowly walked behind the rest of the offense, got down to one knee and doubled over as a trainer tended to him. Joe is going to guess the heat and Florida humidity got to McMillan, who is used to Seattle weather. Joe once saw former Bucs receiver Justin Watson (now a three-time Super Bowl champion) do the very same thing in a minicamp.
Rookie minicamp Day 2 begins. pic.twitter.com/iZNryL04Vw
— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) May 11, 2024
May 11th, 2024 at 4:25 pm
Big hat,,,,fishin sun outfit….Total coverage.
May 11th, 2024 at 4:27 pm
I’m really pulling for Klein to work out and be a diamond in the rough for us. That would mean so much for us, as far as starters and for depth. Starting line ideally would be Wirfs-Mauch-Barton-Klein-Goedeke, with Hainsey moving to more of an IOL depth role.
May 11th, 2024 at 4:28 pm
Thanks for the write-up Joe, good stuff!
May 11th, 2024 at 4:29 pm
Klein saying the thing he hates most in life is people driving slow in the fast lane makes him my all-time favorite Buc, at least tied with Warren Sapp.
May 11th, 2024 at 4:34 pm
I’m with Walter
May 11th, 2024 at 4:40 pm
Mac definitely, does not need to be DIVING for balls like THAT, in freaking MINNI CAMP. Just think of the guys that Bras has gone up against just in practice alone, during his Alabama career, & the coaching he received… Just think about who all he was buried behind the depth chart throughout his first three years. He is a MAN child. Even, in HS the amount of ‘high end’ talent there, as they played a ‘national’ schedule, & then in THE SEC. I wonder what kind of draft capital we can pull-off for moving Godwin!? I really hope they are already, trying to gage his future plans on wanting to remain a Buc & with what he will be ‘realistically’ wanting to be paid and is willing to accept. I’m guessing he’s NOT interested in any discounts, Etc. So, What Would YOU Take… A 2025 2nd from NE, a 2026 3rd & a 2026 4th for Godwin and a 2026 5th from the Bucs!? I have absolutely no idea what his value would be, but I would hope we could at least, get something like that!? Saw where we would save $7M on the cap for this season if traded after June 1st, & we are STILL OVER. IDK, WHAT They Are Waiting On With JUNIOR… Licht said both sides were being ‘fair’ AND that he is THE best Safety in the entire LEAGUE, & deserves to be PAID like it. So, WHAT Are We Waiting For… And, with WIRFS!? The longer you wait on him (or both, really) just the more it will be. GITTER DUN.
May 11th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Joe, as a fair-skinned guy, think about a big floppy hat, and long-sleeved quick-dry shirt with a hign spf.
I even wear quick-dry compression pants with spf under shorts.
Boith are cooler than bare skin, and protective to boot…
May 11th, 2024 at 4:45 pm
I like these Klein reports. I look forward to hearing about the guy in pads.
For Big Uglies, both he and Barton are quite articulate, like the FrankenSTEEN monster in Young Frankenstein.
May 11th, 2024 at 5:07 pm
Joe, Here’s a heads up for you. I work with Doctors and attend Medical conferences.
You said you’ve had topical skin surgeries because of sun exposure in Florida. I will caution you that Doctors earn more money performing surgeries than routine office visits.
I’ve seen Doctors butcher patients and Lawyers won’t take medical malpractice lawsuits against them because the Lawyers can’t earn enough money.
Everything today is about making MONEY!!!
May 11th, 2024 at 5:08 pm
Yes – as long as Mauch is agreeable – move him to the LG spot now – between Wirfs and Barton – and leave him there!
Opeta, Hainsey, Bredeson and Klein can all fight for that RG starting spot and the order of backups at each inside spot.
Thanks for the practice notes Joe. Better stock up on long sleeve fishing shirts, gaiter buffs and wide brimmed hats. Its gonna be a long hot training camp….
May 11th, 2024 at 5:08 pm
I’ve got a feeling about this Klein. From what I’ve read about him it’s hard to believe he was available so late.
May 11th, 2024 at 5:26 pm
Yup!
May 11th, 2024 at 5:29 pm
Oh yes. Exactly what Joe has/does when he has to be out in the sun. Big ol’ straw hat, long-sleeved fishing’ shirt and massive amounts of sunscreen.
Since The Sickness, Bucs had a covered patio about 40 yards long. They removed it since last year. Wasn’t warned. 🤷♂️
May 11th, 2024 at 5:34 pm
Thanks Joe! Good stuff.
Stay covered. Stay healthy.
May 11th, 2024 at 5:41 pm
As always thanks Joe.
May 11th, 2024 at 5:53 pm
Joe: Remember how the Philly PA guy would say J-U-L-I-U-S E—R—V—I—N—G at the Sixers home games? The Bucs need the same thing for their Irving.
Is it too early for nicknames? How about Graham-Bo (First Blood) and Killer Klein? 🤔
May 11th, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Joe needs to be on floppy hat patrol all year long 😀
Nice report sir.
May 11th, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Johnny Newton has two bum feet. Dodged a bullet with that one! Go Bucs!!!
May 11th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
The thing that stood out to me the most is the music during practice
May 11th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
Joe, thanks for your reporting!!! I appreciate the candor about both good plays AND bad plays.
May 11th, 2024 at 7:29 pm
Joe…good luck with the skin. I too am a melanoma survivor. Challenging living in Florida but ya just gotta work around it. I swim from 7A-8:30A and never later than 9AM. Pretty much the same for walking outdoors.
@Allen Wow dude you are the definition of negativity. Do you cheat your customers or your boss. Do you claim crap on the so called “Medical Conferences” from your employer and the IRS that are nonexistent?
Here’s a heads up for you Allen. If I had received your advice in 2001 I’d be dead right now!!! Like Joe I have fair skin…Irish and have to see the Dermatoligist every six months since I SURVIVED a malignant melanoma on my shoulder.
I won’t mention which practice I used to attend to get stuff routinely burnt off.
One year my wife says have him look at that thing on your shoulder. He looked and agreed it might be suspicious so we would “keep an eye on it”. Oh that he only wanted money as you imply. No we’ll just check it next year.
My wife was unrelenting and two weeks later we went to another Dermatologist
He took a look and said let’s be safe not sorry. He biopsied it and two days later the bad news. I had a malignant melanoma that would have certainly killed me if I had waited the entire year.
BTW the Dermatologist who diagnosed it didn’t get money for the surgery that would be the Plastic Surgeon to whom he had to refer the case.
You know you’re right to a suspicious dude. I’ve used to “club” a lot and there were more married ladies than single ones. Better check up on your wife because I’ve seen enough “anecdotal” evidence that you should be concerned.
May 11th, 2024 at 7:38 pm
Ahhh the start of football season! September can’t come fast enough. Joe, your reports are a great appetizer for what lies ahead!!
May 11th, 2024 at 8:12 pm
Joe, I’ve been telling you. Klein will start at RG, he’s played 56 college games, mainly at RG. Dude is already a full grown man, he looks like he’s about 36, rather then 23. Mauch will make the easy transition to LG. Why they didn’t start him there is beyond me, but he’ll man LG. You’re starting O line. Wirfs LT, Mauch LG, Barton center, Klein RG, Goedeke RT.
May 11th, 2024 at 8:29 pm
I’ll be curious to see how much bigger Mauch has gotten. He’s already 24 or 25, so it’ll be interesting to see how much muscle weight he was able to put in this offseason
May 11th, 2024 at 8:32 pm
Irving catch over the middle seems to be a trend. Love that pick
May 11th, 2024 at 9:29 pm
Giving some love for Walters starting oline
May 11th, 2024 at 11:03 pm
Florida dermatologists love to make mountains of cash out of moles.
May 12th, 2024 at 5:57 am
Thank you, Joe. This was good stuff. Looking forward to seeing how it all works out. Hope McMillan is okay and agree probably the weather here too.
Take care of yourself and please keep healthy. I read a lot of good advice in the comments. You have to be careful, relentless, and have the right dermatologist. The same with ENTs, Orthopedic, and other specialists too. Stay safe everyone.
May 12th, 2024 at 6:04 am
Hainsey will get cut.
The Giants center/guard and the Eagles guard will be backups. Quality depth. Well done Licht.
Wirfs-Mauch-Barton-Klein-Goedeke
That is a nasty young offensive line.
Hainsey will not outplay Klein. I’m sorry. Klein is way stronger.
Hainsey will get picked up. He will keep developing for 4 more years like Shipley.
I just hope he works a lot on his lower body strength and his glutes.
Klein will make the team. Hainsey will not.
Sorry to all the Hainsey apologists.
May 12th, 2024 at 7:17 am
Thanks for the post Joe – I was wondering who was tossing the pill to the receivers and backs. “Now I know dat!”
Skin cancer – yea me too. Surgery after surgery after surgery. There are chunks of me all over VA.
May 12th, 2024 at 7:37 am
No mo MOHS !
May 12th, 2024 at 7:55 am
A Tin Foil hat does wonders for keeping the sun off…………
May 12th, 2024 at 8:00 am
Tap the brakes on Klein a bit…..maybe he’ll start but probably not….
At least it means we have considerable quality depth on the Oline…..not so sure about our tackle depth.
Irving & McMillan are great draft picks and will really help our offense right away.
Thanks, Joe…& stay smart with the sun!!!
May 12th, 2024 at 8:00 am
Thanks Joe, I love these camp notes. Your sacrifices are appreciated. Stay safe!
May 12th, 2024 at 3:24 pm
I am a veteran of:
– 5 melanomas, including a nodular melanoma (most deadly type) on my shoulder that I thought was a pimple, so I lanced it and squeezed it (bad move)
– 8 Moh’s surgeries, including 4 on my nose
-Several squamous cells
– Countless basal cells
– 1 severely dysplastic nevus
No part of my body ever sees the sun.
Everyone who lives in this state should see a dermatologist at least once a year.
May 13th, 2024 at 12:09 am
You’re not cutting Hainsey. He’s our backup Center. Too versatile and too experience… And, CHEAP. He’s good value and a good teammate. Ain’t happenin. At least not flat out CUT.