Joe listened and watched manbeast-in-waiting Gerald McCoy talk to the media today at One Buc Palace, and Joe heard his interview with Justin Pawlowski, who is filling in right now until 6:30 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620.

While McCoy didn’t surprise with his comments, it’s becoming very clear to Joe that McCoy is as much or more prepared to lead than he is to learn.

Simply, McCoy talked more like a leader than a babyfaced rookie coming into camp.

Joe likes it.

Multiple times since McCoy was drafted Joe has heard Mark Dominik reference that McCoy, who came out of the University of Oklahoma after his junior season, was a two-time captain at the school. Clearly, Dominik sees McCoy as a guy who naturally will fill the apparent leadership void on the Bucs. And McCoy is wired to take on the role.

Of course, nobody knows whether he’ll be successful on the field, let alone off it. But right now it feels really good.

Joe just worries whether the kid can handle all the pressure and whether the Bucs should seemingly be putting that much on his shoulders. Why last night, the great orator Raheem The Dream called McCoy the “face of the franchise.”

“I’m really fired up,” said Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris, who is also the defensive coordinator. “(With McCoy), you’re talking about the cornerstone of what you’re going to do on defense; you’re talking about the face of your franchise; you’re talking about a guy whose going to come in fired up.

Joe thought Josh Freeman was the “face of the franchise?”

Regardless, Joe will be satisfied if McCoy isn’t a bust and becomes a key piece of the puzzle, even if he just ends up being a reliable, above-average player who makes those around him better.