Bucs coach Lovie Smith explained the long odds most  rookie camp participants have of making a final 53-man roster.

The vast majority of players competing in the Bucs’ rookie minicamp this weekend (no media availability today, folks) will never see the final 53-man roster this fall. At best, there may be three or four who become Buccaneers — guys who weren’t draft picks. The odds and sheer numbers are against them.

So there was a reason why Bucs coach Lovie Smith wasn’t getting too worked up over what he saw in minicamp Saturday.

Oh, sure, several will be invited to training camp, but that’s more camp meat than anything.

“We do have a couple [that stood out], but they don’t know it yet,” Lovie said. “I’m going to let them know it first. We have a couple that have stood out. It’s been documented what [tackle] Demar Dotson did here and when I was in Chicago I had two defensive backs that started from this tryout camp. It’s always good to see guys come up the hard way. There were a couple guys that have a chance that we have in camp right now.

“I hate pointing anybody else out. If you see them stay a little bit later on, you’ll know that we like them a little bit. We’ll let them know Monday. Again, who stays around and who’s starting to get some work Monday with the rest of the vets – that’ll tell you how we feel about them.”

Simply put, NFL teams do a tremendous job scouting. The likes of Leonard Johnson or Dotson slipping through the cracks and being undrafted but making an NFL roster are certainly not the norm.

Some get cut and signed to the practice squad. Others may land in the CFL. Still others will find their way to the arena league. Most, as the famous NCAA commercials during the NCAA basketball tournament brag, will major in working somewhere outside of football.