The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced today that they have hired Eric Stokes to be the team's Director of College Scouting.
Stokes comes to the Buccaneers after 14 seasons of playing and scouting experience in the NFL. Most recently, Stokes worked as the Seahawks' assistant director of college scouting (2010-11), during which time he was instrumental in bringing in the likes of defensive standouts S Earl Thomas (first-round, 2010), S Kam Chancellor (fifth-round, 2010), LB K.J. Wright (fourth-round, 2011) and CB Richard Sherman (fifth-round, 2011).
Prior to that, Stokes spent seven seasons with Seattle as an area scout (2000-01, 2005-09) and three seasons as an assistant in the pro personnel department (2002-04). While serving in the pro personnel department, he was responsible for the weekly advance of upcoming opponents, as well as assisting in the evaluation and writing of player reports on potential talent in free agency, NFL Europe, the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League.
Stokes also played two seasons as a safety for the Seahawks after being selected in the fifth round (121st overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 expansion draft before an injury cut his career short. Stokes graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in sociology.
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