Tampa Bay Bucs OTA’s may be voluntary, but for some they're off limits.
Players might be running through various drills in their underwear, as head coach Dirk Koetter like’s to term the workouts, but there are major benefits to participating.
For a rookie like linebacker Micah Awe, the OTA’s mean everything. Awe’s trying to gain any edge to crack the Bucs roster. One edge comes from what he’s learning at OTA’s.
“A lot, let me tell you that right now,” Awe said. “I think the biggest difference between college and the NFL is the attention to detail.
“In the NFL, it’s your job to get every little thing right. “
Awe is one of the lucky rookies, one that isn’t left on the sideline. He got his Texas Tech degree in petroleum engineering last month so he gets to participate in Tampa Bay’s OTA’s.
Fifth-round draft pick Caleb Benenoch isn’t so lucky. League rules prohibit Benenoch from joining his team for anything other than the three-day rookie camp until his school, UCLA, wraps up its academic school year on June 10.
The rest of the rookie class, including first-round draft pick Vernon Hargreaves are getting the work in early that hopefully will lead to more playing time when the regular season begins.
“The guys that are here, they get a big jump on the playbook,” Koetter said.
Seventh-year vet Alterraun Verner feels the pain of the rookies left out of OTA’s. He’s been there. He’s played in their shoes.
Verner knows what they’re missing.
“It’s good to get out here as much as you can,” Verner said. “Not only are you learning, but you build that chemistry with your teammates and stuff. You’re going to get it all back in training camp, but it’s always good to get a little start here. You really don’t get much reps and it’s like fast paced once you get back because they’ve already installed a lot.
“It’s tough, but that’s just the way the system is, I guess.”