Could A Local Guy Be In Linebacker Mix?
April 11th, 2011
Those who are adept at using Twitter know how to find stories. It’s all about following the right people.
One of those people would be, of course, Joe.
But last night while nursing an adult beverage and watching Joe’s guilty pleasure, Celebrity Apprentice, Joe was also scrolling through Twitter when he came across this little nugget:
@COLINMcCARTHY44 Headed to bed. Good to be home. Working out with the Bucs tomorrow.
That would be former Clearwater Central Catholic stud Colin McCarthy, a bruising linebacker who played at the University of Miami, a three-year starter at Coral Gables in fact. McCarthy, at CCC, was a teammate of Riley Cooper, who later played wide receiver for Florida and is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now Joe knows it’s a stretch to say McCarthy will be with the Bucs. Who is to say whether one of the other 31 teams may draft McCarthy as well? But Joe wonders if the Bucs do draft McCarthy if he would be groomed to take over Barrett Ruud’s duties? Just eyeballing McCarthy he seems to fit that mold.
How McCarthy grades out later this month in the draft is anyone’s guess. Joe has seen McCarthy slotted anywhere from the third round to sixth round. Joe does remember, sadly, that while doing the radio broadcast of the Senior Bowl, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, both Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan were not very high on McCarthy and suggested he would be a third-day pick and a career special teams guy.
If McCarthy can somehow channel what he did against Cardinal Mooney as a senior in high school, it would serve him well. It was one of the wackiest finishes Joe has ever seen in a high school game and McCarthy literally took the game over.
With three minutes to go in the game losing 17-10 and CCC’s playoff life hanging by a thread, McCarthy fielded a squib kick and returned the ball 73 yards to tie the game. On the ensuing possession, he intercepted a pass and returned it deep in Mooney territory to set up a short plunge for the winning score as time ran out.
It’s been a long time since the Bucs had a linebacker that could take over a game at a crucial moment.
April 11th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
CCC baby! LBer U! Haha Go Marauders!
April 11th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
God Bless Joe Maddon!!!
Give em Hell Joe!!!
Take notes Raheem.
April 11th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
looks more and more like were goin DE or BPA. We’re better off grooming Mckenzie, a former 3rd rd pick with system knowledge and NFL game experience, over an inexperienced rookie. We need a THUMPER!
April 11th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Tweeted by 1010’s Happy Hour Show:
HappyHour1010 Happy Hour with JP
Shelton Quarles just said on the show that @COLINMcCARTHY44 was a solid guy in college. That is team speak for they love him.
April 11th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
anywhere from late round two to early round 4. wouldnt be surprised at all. If he is there in round 3 and we havent addresses mlb. He could be the choice. I would love if we went de, de, mlb. Imagine if we somehow got aldon smith in round one, sheard or bailey in round two. Mcarthy or sturdivant round three. im drooling
April 11th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
i would love to see us get this guy in the 3rd or later. i think he would be worth the pick..he is the anti ruud. just wants to hit somebody and for a 3rd maybe 4th. roll the dice. def can contribute immed. on sp. teams..which is all i ever expect from a 3 or later anyway.
April 11th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
One thing is for sure, McCarthy is no stranger to the heat, and that is a plus in itself. I believe the heat beat down Brian Price and I hope he can overcome it this year. These guys need to embrace the heat, because Tampa’s summer heat is as much of a home field advantage as Greenbay’s cold in December. No one handles this heat better than Ronde Barber. The kids will learn over time.
April 11th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Hey this guy could not be any worse than who we have now. Maybe he knows how to step up and lay some wood on somebody since right now that person does not exist on the Bucs roster at least not at the linebacker position. I am all for dumping our entire invisible linebacker corp from last year. Well I do like Dakota Watson and Geno Hayes defnitely has range when his head is in the game….
April 11th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
BigMacAttack:
It was a hip injury that beat down Brian Price.
April 12th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Pete Dutcher: Joe deleted that because it bordered on slander. You offered no link whatsoever and inferred some damning if not criminal behavior. That’s way out of bounds. If you are going to try to connect the dots like that, you better come up with a link to a legitimate news outlet rather than just pulling something out of thin air. You should know better than that. — Joe
April 12th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Okay, well maybe he applied heat when he should have used ice. Didn’t Price have hammy problems from the gitgo? Joe? Don’t heat and hammy’s often coincide? Well anyway,that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Killjoy.