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About the Author: Scott Reynolds
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Pewter Report’s Bucs Camp Diaries, a popular training camp feature on PewterReport.com, returns in 2022. We are fortunate to have two really good players to profile in veteran defensive end Pat O’Connor and rookie running back Rachaad White, the Bucs’ third-round pick.
O’Connor will offer up his perspective of Todd Bowles’ defense and special teams. White will take readers through the experience of rookie life in his first training camp in Tampa Bay in the Bucs offense. Look for O’Connor and White’s Bucs Camp Diaries each week throughout training camp and the preseason.
White is assured of making the team, but he doesn’t just want to be a backup. He has his sights set on being the Bucs’ starting running back. Tampa Bay signed Leonard Fournette to a three-year, $21-million contract, so that might not happen during his rookie season. But White could move past Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard on the depth chart and claim the RB2 spot this year with a great camp and preseason. White is an elusive runner with great hands and will prove to be a weapon on all three downs for the Bucs in 2022.
At This Level It’s Chess – Not Checkers
By Rachaad White as told to Scott Reynolds
The full pads came on this week and it was fun. We got some good pops out there, which is what you expect. It’s been fun to get the pads on and get pops. You get the real football feel. It was definitely hot this week and you feel hotter with the pads on. You get tired legs, but mentally, you just have to tell yourself to keep going, keep pushing yourself. If you have a guy go down at your position (like Giovani Bernard this week), your reps get ramped and you have to get going. We saw some fatigue on Tuesday. The second padded practice was steaming. That’s to be expected, but everybody kept fighting.
Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today
I grew up in the Midwest in Kansas City, and it’s hot out there. It’s kind of similar and maybe a little hotter than it is out here. But it’s more humid here. In Arizona, you would get what you would get every day. If it was 105 today, it would be 105 tomorrow. It might cool off a bit at night, but it’s back to 105 in the morning. When the heat would ramp up in Arizona, it would stay there. Here, you get a breeze. It might be hot, but you’re praying for that breeze. In Arizona, there isn’t a cool breeze. It was like a hot hairdryer out there.
I liked practicing in the indoor facility a lot on Wednesday. It was amazing. I’ve trained inside there some before this summer, but to be in there practicing with the whole team in pads was fun. I certainly didn’t mind practicing in the air conditioning for the third day in pads. It was real lovely indoors. Feeling that air conditioning felt good.
Obviously, it’s important to practice on the type of field you’re going to play on. But to switch it up and go inside with the artificial turf is good for us. It’s good to get that different feel, and we’ll be indoors for our first two games out of the gate (at Dallas and New Orleans). That turf feels good on your feet and we’ll be seeing it here and there on our schedule.
Gaining The Trust Of Special Teams Coaches
I’m playing some personal protector on punts, which I like. They call it the PP on special teams and I get to orchestrate things. The coaches are showing a lot of trust in me. It’s another great way for me to learn how to pass block and to show my pass blocking skills. But I’m in control now and I have to point out the protection and let everybody else do their jobs.
I think the coaches have noticed how I carry myself and how I go about things and the type of challenges you are willing to take on. They see I’m a rookie, but they know I’m going to put in the work in the playbook to handle it. It’s lovely running the show on punts.
Personal protecting on punts is very similar to blitz pickup on offense. You send the line one way and the running back steps up and gets the unaccounted-for guy. This is where you have to out-think your opponent. At this level it’s chess – not checkers. That’s the biggest thing my coach and I talk about and that’s the biggest thing you notice on film. It’s “how can I outsmart this guy?” at this level.
I’m Ready To See Bucs vs. Dolphins
Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
On my days off, I spend a lot of time with my family. But I spend a lot of time with my family on my days on, too! The time I get before curfew, I need to see my family. I’m that type of guy. Some guys are different, but I’m the type of man where I need to see my family. I need to see the excitement on my little daughter’s face. Seeing Nevaeh’s smile and seeing my lady – it’s just the joy I need to be able to come to work ready to go. My days off are pretty simple – I just chill. Maybe I’ll get some good eats and go out and get some brunch, then rest. I’m a really chill guy. My daughter will be crawling all around, but I’m laying down.
I’m not tired of seeing Bucs-on-Bucs in practice quite yet because we’re getting each other better. But I’m ready to see the Dolphins. It will be nice to see all of us together on the same sideline and actually going up against another team. Coming from college, we never had a joint practice with another team. No other school comes to your training camp. This is an NFL thing, so it’s different and exciting. I know we’ll be locked in and competing and doing drills and one-on-ones. You want to go out there and compete and win. The competition level amps up and I’m excited for that like I was excited for the first day in pads.
Happy Birthday To The Bucs’ G.O.A.T.
I want to say Happy Birthday to Tom Brady. He’s been playing football for so long, this is his 23rd season in the NFL. Tom is 45 and I’m 23. He’s been playing in the NFL as long as I’ve been alive! The crazy thing is that people have expected him to decline, but you don’t see it. It goes to the type of man he is, the human being he is and the hard worker he is. He might look like your dad, but we can be influenced by that and it makes you want to work even harder. If you work and grind, you can defeat all the odds and play longer.
