DT Clinton McDonald also graded himself, and today’s practice

Lovie Smith’s handpicked nose tackle, Clinton McDonald, has a shiny new Super Bowl ring, but the time isn’t right to share the “bling of the ring” with his teammates, McDonald said after practice today.

No, that won’t be good motivation yet.

McDonald knows when the time will be right to motivate his new teammates with his hardware. He remembers the impact of when Seahawks linebackers coach Kenny Norton, Jr., showed off his four rings to Seattle players two years ago.

“You just want to take your time and show it. When we went to the Super Bowl, the year before Coach [Kenny] Norton brought his rings out, and he showed everybody his rings, and that kind of made you feel a type of way,” McDonald said. “You don’t want to show it too early because you want guys to actually think about the grind before they think about the bling of the ring and what finger they’re going to get it on and things like that. You got to till your fields if you want good crops.”

McDonald said he’s been getting peppered with questions from Bucs players about his championship experience. He said he’s asked questions like ‘What does it take?” “What do we got to do?” and “How does it feel?” as well what the camaraderie is like on a championship team.

“Selflessness” and “dedication” are key, he said. “You gotta be brothers out there.”

McDonald likes what he’s seen from the Bucs so far. He said the team has a long way to go and gave the Bucs a “B” grade for today.

As for himself, he awarded himself a “C+.” But that’s not so bad because a major reason for the lesser grade is McDonald’s inability to beat starting center Evan Dietrich-Smith in 1-on-1 drills. McDonald explained that Dietrich-Smith doesn’t “shoot his hands” like most centers and he “sets firm.”