K.J. Britt’s Extreme Commitment
June 24th, 2021
Bucs rookie linebacker K.J. Britt
Joe’s become a big fan of Bucs rookie K.J. Britt, the fifth-round pick linebacker out of Auburn.
What a driven dude. It’s no surprise Stanford recruited him out of high school.
So earlier this month Britt was part of an Icon Source podcast, and there he talked about how busy he was in college.
Joe is paraphrasing Britt’s schedule at Auburn below:
He called his days “hectic,” starting with classes 8 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. or 2 followed by lunch. Then it was football meetings from 2 to 4, followed by football practice until 6:30 p.m., then dinner, then film study for about 90 minutes. After that, it’s homework/study from 8:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. before a 30-minute phone call to his girlfriend. By then, it’s bedtime before 11:30 p.m., when Britt said he would try to wind down in time to get close to eight hours of sleep. However, he said he rarely succeeded and awakened tired — just to do it all again the following day.
Obviously, Joe realizes not all college athletes are so dedicated. (And don’t forget Britt’s beagles.) But what most intrigued Joe was Britt explaining that he finds his NFL commitment more demanding.
“Coming to the NFL, I’m more busy now than I was in college. Because it’s football all day,” Britt said.
Man, that really made Joe take pause and rewind the tape. What kind of football junkie did the Bucs discover on Day 3 of the draft?
Britt’s already gotten lots of love from Lavonte David and coaches for his preparation and quick-study ways. He may not see the field on defense this season, but he just might be the kind of guy thoroughly ready to step in if injuries arise.
June 24th, 2021 at 10:51 am
I hope both our drafted linebackers make the team. Both are extremely dedicated.
June 24th, 2021 at 10:51 am
should be a good addition. he has the dedication, let’s hope he has the skills.
if so, and in the 5th round…. that would be YUGE!
June 24th, 2021 at 10:56 am
Special teams would be a good place for him to catch on.
June 24th, 2021 at 11:02 am
Bucs:
32nd in Opponent Kick Return Avg
26th in Opponent Punt Return Avg
We should greatly improve
June 24th, 2021 at 11:03 am
I for one am glad all of the Licht bashers have pretty much shut up or left.
Licht is assembling a dynasty. I wouldn’t count Stuard out just yet either.
June 24th, 2021 at 11:13 am
Similar size and weight to Devin White but not as fast. White ran an unbelievable 4.42 while Britt ran a 4.75. Probably doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as White but definitely has the ability and desire to be a good starter down the road.
June 24th, 2021 at 11:16 am
Not sure what is supposed to be surprising here. Sounds like the schedule of every D1 football player in America, except it sounds like this guy probably did more coursework than most
June 24th, 2021 at 11:26 am
I dont know what happened to Jason Licht, but as soon as Arians and his bunch got here, our Drafts improved greatly!
Licht is assembling a dynasty, in case no one else has noticed.
Britt should be ready to step in if injuries arise.
June 24th, 2021 at 11:31 am
You know what, I tried to AVOID checking out the news of Tom Brady… “PREFERING??” to sign with the Aint’s, but I couldn’t help it and finally checked it out. I noticed that the Joe’s haven’t touch on it and for good reason. IT’LL SET OFF A FIRE STORM! BUT….. Or maybe they did and I missed it.
I gotta be honest, if true, it changes the feelings I have about the Brady signing. It feels like we were the only ones willing to go to the dance with him and he preferred to go with someone else. Kinda like in a movie where the gal is looking over your shoulder, while dancing, at the prom at the guy that they’d rather be dancing with…..
I guess I take it more personal than some but it DEFINITELY makes me feel differently about the Brady signing.
I’d rather be at the dance with the girl who wanted to go with me. That’s just my feeling about it. There is Something about a chick looking around me to check out another guy that doesn’t work for me. Trophy or not…
Go Bucs
June 24th, 2021 at 11:37 am
No disrespect to this article but my son plays college baseball . He has to get up and be at the gym by 6 am and his day is not over until 10 that night. He looks forward to the season so he can actually catch up on sleep, LOL. But I’m still impressed by the work ethic of Britt and also by Light finding these types of dedicated athletes.
June 24th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
One thing for sure, you can never be too deep at the LB position.
June 24th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
Alabama.
I would agree with you on Britt’s ceiling if 4.75 was the time everyone expected and wasn’t just due to injury. No one thought he was a 4.4 guy but 4.6 was expected. I think too many Bucs fans have given up on this guy just because his forty time. Props to the Bucs scouts and staff for digging deeper and getting him in the 5th.
June 24th, 2021 at 12:40 pm
Looking forward to seeing what Britt looks like on the field and in preseason games.
The NFL ain’t college. You can get away with being a wood laying LBer that runs a 4.75 40 in College and still be successful. But can ‘preparation’ and ‘want to’ make up for lack of NFL speed at the NFL level? Usually not – as Riley ‘Joe Dirt’ Bullough can probably attest to….
Not trying to dis Britt at all because he’s obviously a good football player and a hard worker – just sayin’…..
White just ran a 4.37 recently. LD54 is in the 4.5 range.
If Britt gets 1st team reps – its a major drop off of speed and pursuit capability vs our starters.
Making an impact on Special teams is where Britt will have to earn his spot on this 2021 roster. Same goes for Mr Irrelevant. Its why they were drafted frankly…..
June 24th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
Britt is bright guy and a team first player. Minter isnt getting any younger and I think he has been solid for the Bucs. Does Todd Bowles turn this defense around, develop the young talent, and stock the cupboards for the future? I think he does.
June 24th, 2021 at 1:10 pm
I don’t know about anyone else….but he sure does look & talk like a football player…..a solid one.
June 24th, 2021 at 3:28 pm
Sounds like the kid has the dedication. We’ll have to wait on assessing how well his skill set will succeed in the NFL arena. As for all the other rookies, wish him the best of luck.
June 24th, 2021 at 3:50 pm
I hope he can improve, dramatically, in defensing the pass. He was pretty awful in college at it, which is why he slipped. But as others said he should help with special teams, if he can become a special teams ace, that will help the team, and who knows, in a few years maybe he’s a quality backup LB.
June 24th, 2021 at 7:37 pm
Kevin Minter was reportedly timed at 4.72 at his pro day…. Just a data point for everyone thinking oh no way this dude makes the roster….
June 26th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
Those pro days sprints do not directly predict game time performance in full gear. Nor do they reflect on mental toughness and decision making and read/react skills. Many top linebackers over the years were not the fastest sprinters but when they hit you your forward progress stopped.