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The Bucs Training Camp Diaries are an annual training camp feature on PewterReport.com and we are fortunate to have two really good players to profile in veteran linebacker Kevin Minter, who will offer up his perspective of Todd Bowles’ defense, and wide receiver Scotty Miller, the Bucs’ sixth-round pick, who will take PewterReport.com readers through the trials and tribulations of rookie life in Bruce Arians’ first training camp in Tampa Bay. Look for Miller’s and Minter’s Bucs Training Camp Diaries twice a week throughout training camp and the preseason.
Miller is battling for a roster spot at wide receiver behind established veterans like Pro Bowler Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Breshad Perriman. The Bucs drafted the 5-foot-11, 174-pound Miller for his blazing 4.4 speed and production as a deep threat at Bowling Green where he caught 215 passes for 2,867 yards (13.3 avg.) and 23 touchdowns. Miller had a huge senior campaign for the Falcons where he caught 71 passes for a career-high 1,148 yards (16.2 avg.) and nine touchdowns.
Outside of Bobo Wilson and Justin Watson, Tampa Bay’s fifth-round pick from a year ago, there isn’t much established competition on the roster. The Bucs have six other receivers in the mix for the final two or three roster spots behind Evans, Godwin and Perriman that are either rookies or first-year players. Miller has a chance to shine in training camp and the preseason, but must be a factor on special teams if he is going to make the final 53-man roster in Tampa Bay. That means either winning the punt or kick return duties, and being willing and able to cover kicks and punts, too.
It Was Frustrating Just Watching
By Scotty Miller as told to Mark Cook
For our first preseason game I stayed here and watched it on TV because I’m dealing with this hamstring injury. It was cool watching everybody, watching the guys I’ve been working with play and everything, but it was frustrating just watching everybody finally get to play against somebody else at Pittsburgh and having to sit at home and watch.
Bucs WR Bryant Mitchell – Photo by: Getty Images
When you watch a game on television you are supposed to be in it’s interesting for sure. It’s cool watching everything go down when you actually know what’s going on. As a typical fan you don’t really know the behind the scenes, so I kind of look at it and see what I would of done, and I think through that in my head when I watch the other guys in my position.
Seeing one of our wide receivers, Bryant Mitchell, go down was hard. First of all, Bryant’s a great dude. B-Mitch is an awesome guy. We all love him, everybody loves him around the facility. He’s an upbeat guy, a man of faith, and he works harder than anybody. To see a guy go down that’s been through a lot like him and that’s fighting for a spot on the team, it’s frustrating to see. I hope the best for him. I hope he has a quick recovery and hopefully next year he comes back stronger and ready to go.
Whether it was an Achilles injury or a serious knee injury, I’ve never had either, I don’t know what would be worse, honestly. I think they both take around the same amount of time. An Achilles might even take a little bit longer but I think it depends on the situation. Hopefully I avoid both of the two.
Of course I want to be out there instead of being injured, but if I can’t then I am definitely cheering for them. Not a lot of people know about some of our receivers, but they come here and do what they did in the game every single day in practice. So I was expecting Schnelly (Spencer Schnell) to have a big night and [Tanner] Hudson, he has some of the best hands on the entire team. To see them go out there and do that wasn’t a surprise, wasn’t a shock to anybody in this organization.
Bucs WR Scotty Miller – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
But I want to get back as soon as I can. Coach [Brice] Arians made a comment about me and I didn’t know about but until people were messaging me on Twitter (Arians said he would like to see Miller “get his ass back out there”).
It is what it is – 100 percent I would be out there today if I was cleared to practice. I will out there as soon as I can get cleared. I think he knows that and just wants to see me back out here.
Jameis [Winston], Blaine [Gabbert] and [Ryan] Griffin they’re all different quarterbacks from a receiver’s perspective. Jameis throws it a little bit soft. Blaine probably has the strongest arm – he slings it in there. It’s a little different when you go from play to play with different quarterbacks, but it’s just something when the ball comes your way you got to catch it, you got to come down with it some way, somehow.
Griffin played a great game in Pittsburgh, having to constantly deal with different personnel. I can only imagine how hard that would be as a quarterback. Just the receiver position alone is tough, especially when you have changing pieces around you, so I can’t even imagine what the quarterback has to deal with. Griffin has done a great job all camp. I love going in there with him. Everyone does. He does a great job commanding the offense. He’s been in the league for a while so he brings a lot of experience to the table, and I think he did a great job. He threw for like 300 something yards. He did a phenomenal job in Pittsburgh.
Previous Miller’s Bucs Camp Diary Entries
Entry 1: Miller’s Camp Diary: Catching The Deep Ball
Entry 2: Miller’s Camp Diary: Rookie DBs Have Played Really Well
The next Miller’s Bucs Training Camp Diary entry will be published in a few days. Bucs fans and PewterReport.com readers are encouraged to leave their comments or questions for Miller below, and to follow him on social media.
Scotty Miller on Twitter
Scotty Miller on Instagram
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