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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Monday Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Monday Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Were there any performances that surprised you at the Bucs rookie mini-camp – either in a good way or a bad way?

ANSWER: I think there are four players that really stood out to the Pewter Reporters who watched the Bucs’ rookie mini-camp. Logan Hall, the team’s first pick, looked bigger than expected. At 6-foot-6, 290 pounds, he’s not the light, undersized defensive tackle that was written and talked about before the draft. Hall admitted that he played last year at 270 pounds for Houston. But he’s beefed up for his rookie season and looked very athletic and fluid when doing the bag drills and in 11-on-11s.

Bucs RB Rachaad White and CB Kyler McMichael – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Running back Rashaad White just looks the part. His build and the way he moves just resembles an NFL running back. White has natural hands and catches the ball effortlessly. When he runs the ball, he just glides on the field with long strides. I’ve maintained that White will beat out Ke’Shawn Vaughn for the No. 2 running back spot behind Leonard Fournette this year. After watching White in rookie mini-camp, I feel even better about that prediction.

Cornerback Zyon McCollum is as athletic as advertised. The 6-foot-2 cornerback looked smooth and fast on the practice field, and felt comfortable picking up the first install of the Bucs’ defense. He’ll star on special teams as a rookie, but he has the mental makeup and physical traits to be a starter one day. How quickly that happens depends on how rapidly he learns the playbook and if he maintains his confidence after taking a few lumps going against the team’s starting receivers.

The last rookie who really impressed is undrafted free agent receiver Jerreth Sterns. He’s not as fast as Deven Thompkins, but he gets open and catches everything. He makes it look easy. He’s a “steady Eddie” in the way Adam Humphries was coming out of Clemson, although I think Sterns is quicker. Second-round pick Luke Goedeke got rave reviews from the team over the weekend, but I have a hard time evaluating offensive linemen without pads on.

The Bucs are expected to sign three tryout players from the rookie mini-camp, too.

QUESTION: When the rookies finally go full speed against the vets, which one-on-one match up are you most excited to see from our 2022 draft class?

ANSWER: Great question. Even though the pads won’t be on during OTAs, it will be fun to see some of the rookies square off against the veterans. Logan Hall going against a veteran like Shaq Mason will really test the rookie’s ability to stay low. Hall is 6-foot-6 and needs to have perfect knee bend to maintain proper pad level. Mason is 6-foot-1, and the low man wins in football in the trenches. How Hall anchors and handles double teams from Mason and center Ryan Jensen will also be interesting to watch.

Luke Goedeke will be competing at left guard and loves to get after defensive linemen. But he’s never gone up against the likes of a 347-pounder that moves the way Vita Vea does. His first couple of matchups against the Pro Bowl nose tackle will be interesting to watch. Vea has always been strong, but now at age 27, he’s getting some of that “grown man strength.” The 23-year old Goedeke is built like a block of granite, but will be tested against Vea.

Cornerback Zyon McCollum is tall and fast. He’ll get different tests from veteran receivers Mike Evans and Russell Gage. Evans is 6-foot-5 and the Pro Bowler will present a challenge from a size and physical standpoint. McCollum’s agility and athleticism will be tested by Gage’s speed and shiftiness off the line of scrimmage. Plus, it will be interesting to see Gage in action in red and pewter for the first time in OTAs.

QUESTION: Given his new role with the team, do you expect to see Bruce Arians on the field at practices, or hanging out with Jason Licht to help evaluate the talent and work towards the final 53? Or do you think his role is more behind the scenes and looking towards next year’s draft?

ANSWER: Bruce Arians will be at practices with general manager Jason Licht to help evaluate the talent and keep the best 53 players. Arians was not at the Bucs’ rookie mini-camp, and it will be interesting to see how many OTAs he attends this offseason. I think he wants to give Todd Bowles some space to fully take over as head coach before he starts roaming the sidelines with Licht and the team’s personnel scouts.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Arians told me that he will probably skip the first week of training camp and hang back in Lake Oconee, Georgia. We’ll see if that’s still the plan. I think it will be hard for the 69-year old Arians, who has coached at the college or pro level for 47 years, to not want to coach in OTAs or in training camp. Coaching is in Arians’ blood, so that will be a different and unique challenge for him.

The great thing is that Arians hired this coaching staff, so he can still feel comfortable communicating what he sees from the sidelines to the assistants. Then, the assistants can communicate that to the players after practice in team meetings while watching film. It will be a different role for Arians for sure. But he and Licht have worked extremely well together for the past three years. I think Arians’ focus will be more on this year’s roster than looking ahead to next year’s draft.

QUESTION: Now that we know the Bucs are bringing back the old school unis, I wonder what game it will be, if only one. A home game or road game? And what combo will they use? Orange jersey and white pants? Or white jerseys and white pants – or orange on orange? Can’t wait!

ANSWER: The throwback game will be one game and it will be a home game in 2023. Keep in mind that the Bucs’ alternate uniform is the all pewter look. So, the throwback game with the orange Bucco Bruce uniforms will be a one-game affair. Likely against a former NFC Central opponent. Tampa Bay just happens to play the NFC North teams in 2023.

So, looking at the 2023 schedule, aside from the Falcons, Panthers and Saints, the Bucs also host the Bears and Lions. My guess is that Tampa Bay will have the throwback game against either Chicago or Detroit. That makes the most sense. The other teams the Bucs will play in Tampa Bay are Jacksonville and Tennessee, in addition to a yet-to-be-determined NFC East opponent.

The Bucs’ first throwback game came in 2009 and ended in a 38-28 upset over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Josh Freeman and Sammie Stroughter were the heroes of that game. The Bucs did such a great job on the throwback games from 2009-12 with the look and feel of the stadium from the 1970s and 1980s music to the orange and white banners around the bowels of Raymond James Stadium. The team has only worn orange jerseys and white pants for the throwback games. I suspect that trend will continue. Can’t wait until the next throwback game next year.

QUESTION: Has Ali Marpet done enough to earn Bucs Ring of Honor?

ANSWER: That’s a great question, and one that I don’t know the answer to. The one thing I do know is that even though Tom Brady is back, Ali Marpet will stay retired. The Bucs drafted his replacement in second-rounder Luke Goedeke. So, Marpet’s playing career lasted only seven years.

The Glazers are the only ones that know the criteria to what makes a Bucs Ring of Honor inductee. They’ve never made that criteria known to the public. There have been some obvious choices in recent years, such as Mike Alstott, Ronde Barber and Hall of Famers like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy and John Lynch.

Bucs LG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I think Marpet was a very good offensive lineman for the Bucs. My criteria for the Bucs Ring of Honor is as follows. Did that player make an impact on the franchise by making his mark in the Bucs’ record book? Were the Bucs winners due to that player’s contributions? Did Tampa Bay make the playoffs with that player?

Marpet helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl and make the playoffs in two seasons during his seven-year career. He made a Pro Bowl in final NFL season, although he deserved to make it more times than once. I think he’s been a very good Buccaneer. But I wouldn’t race to put Marpet in the Bucs Ring of Honor.

I’m not going to say that Ali Marpet is not deserving of the Bucs Ring of Honor. But I think that Hardy Nickerson, Simeon Rice, Tony Mayberry and James Wilder deserve to be in there before Marpet does. Mayberry was the first offensive lineman to make a Pro Bowl and made three straight from 1997-99. He’s the most decorated interior offensive lineman in Tampa Bay history. From an offensive lineman standpoint, Mayberry deserves to make the Bucs Ring of Honor before Marpet does, in my opinion.