Wednesday will officially kick off the start of Bucs training camp — and one of the most exciting periods of the football season. Eyes will always be on the big names, but what adds to the intrigue is seeing how all of the new additions fare.

For Tampa Bay, those eyes will be fixated upon a rookie class that has infused the team with talent across the board, especially on defense.

Undrafted free agent cornerback Roman Parodie will be among the players fighting for a chance to make the team. As a UDFA, nothing will be handed to Parodie, so he will need to get his hands on a lot of footballs over the next couple of weeks to earn a roster spot.

He recently spoke to Pewter Report about the opportunity that presents itself, how his time in Ohio prepared him for this moment, and what goals he has entering camp.

Roman Parodie: “I Play My Best Game When It’s Just Me Versus Someone Else”

Roman Parodie may have spent all five years of his college career in Ohio, but the Parkland, Florida native will always call the Sunshine State home. Parodie revealed that a couple other clubs had interest in him, but getting the chance to come back was too good to pass up.

“I had a couple of opportunities in other places… but staying in Florida was a big dream, and being able to play for a team in Florida is everything I could have asked for,” Parodie started off the interview by saying. “I got family down in Florida, grew up playing football down in Florida, so that played a huge part in it.”

Bucs CB Roman Parodie, ILB Anthony Walker Jr., and OLB Haason Reddick – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

What else played a part in Parodie signing with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent was the chance to join a cornerback room where he felt he had a chance to make the team. Although Zyon McCollum, Jamel Dean, and the recently signed Benjamin Morrison top the depth chart, there will be competition after them for the final few spots.

As players will be jockeying  for roles over the next few weeks, he is enjoying the experience and how welcoming everyone has been.

“It’s been really awesome,” Parodie added. “[The guys] have been doing a great favor to me by helping out, telling me how to play certain coverages, kind of like another coach for me on the field. With Coach [Todd] Bowles’ defense, he likes things to be run a certain way. They give me a lot of help with doing things the way he wants it, the best ways to play certain coverages.

“The base defense we run is pretty similar to what I did in college. We ran a lot of Cover 3 and then we left the corners out there to play some one-on-one. I really liked that as well. I feel like I play my best game when it’s just me versus someone else.”

Outside of just the players giving him lessons, the coaching staff as well as roommate (and fellow undrafted free agent J.J. Roberts) have also been encouraging and helping him sharpen his skills.

“[Cornerbacks] coach [Kevin] Ross, [assistant secondary] coach Rashad [Johnson], and [defensive/special teams assistant Keith] Tandy have been really helpful to me with explaining the defense,” Parodie said. “Going through it with me when some things might seem a little bit grey.

“Other players that have helped me — my roommate J.J. Roberts. He plays safety and he’s a really smart kid. Me and him have been kind of going through the playbook, talking things out, and also [cornerback] Bryce Hall. He’s been really nice to me and works with me before practice a little bit. Getting warmed up, and just telling me to keep my head up, to keep working, stuff like that. It’s all been a big help on the field and mentally.”

With the way Bowles has spoken of the defensive schematic changes heading into the season, those changes will serve Parodie well by the sounds of it. He spent the first few years with the Bobcats playing more of a rotational role learning what it takes to be a do-it-all player.

Bucs CB Roman Parodie – Photo by: USA Today

Across 51 games, Parodie totaled 124 total tackles, 25 passes defensed, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. Despite not being a full-time player until the second half of his time in school and contemplating entering the transfer portal in the hopes of finding a better fit, the 6-foot-2, 204-pound cornerback still made his presence known while stepping outside his comfort zone.

“Going into college, I was a big man guy,” Parodie said. “I wasn’t really comfortable playing zone or blitzing, doing anything like that. At Ohio, my third year there, we got a new defensive coordinator. Our base turned to Cover 3, and I thought about the option of hitting the portal. Going somewhere else did come to mind, but I figured if I’m going to play the game at the highest level, I should learn how to be amazing at it whether it’s zone or man.

“Staying there with coaches De’Angelo Smith and John Hauser, they both really helped me a lot. They helped me understand defenses and how to key the offense, play Cover 3 or Cover 2. The most valuable thing that Ohio really helped me with was competing. There were a lot of really good corners before me, I had to wait my turn for a little while but playing behind guys with such talent made me a better player and made me hungrier to make a play.”

Roman Parodie Was Hyped Up By WR Mike Evans And ILB Lavonte David During Mandatory Minicamp

What had the Bucs, among other teams, interested in Roman Parodie was the unique size-speed profile he possesses. Parodie has a strikingly similar build to Zyon McCollum (6-foot-2, 199 pounds). Tampa Bay surely hopes that he pans out as well as McCollum, who worked his way from being a 2022 fifth-round pick to the team’s top cornerback.

It is hard to be as athletic as McCollum because he is in a league of his own, but Parodie is no slouch, either.

Parodie’s intangibles jump out, especially as he has already shown that he can converts tools into production.

During the team’s mandatory minicamp last month, he intercepted quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Well, I saw that the offense, we were in a third-down period,” Parodie said in recalling the play. “I knew that they needed to get a first down to convert. I was really just playing the sticks. I saw one of my reads, number two kind of went flat. I sat on one, was reading the quarterback, and I guess I was just in the right place and able to make a play on it.”

Not only did Parodie make a big play that made Mayfield think twice, but it also caught the eye of the team’s two biggest current legends — wide receiver Mike Evans and inside linebacker Lavonte David.

“I got back to the sideline, Mike Evans was like, ‘Good play 4-6,'” Parodie said. “I was like, ‘Thank you 1-3.’ That was a pretty cool moment for me. Lavonte David said something too, it was pretty awesome the vets are saying stuff, hyping me up a little bit and making me feel like I belong.”

Roman Parodie Hopes His “Competitiveness” Sets Him Apart In Bucs Training Camp

Under the lights and the pressure of being a fifth-year senior last season, Roman Parodie stepped up as a defensive catalyst as Ohio went 11-3 and ranked 13th among 134 Division 1 teams in allowing just 18.1 points per game. In the process, Parodie nearly doubled his previous career-high with 51 total tackles, showcasing how he developed more physicality as he built up his frame to hold his own.

Former Ohio CB Roman Parodie and former Syracuse TE Oronde Gadsden II – Photo by: USA Today

“I think that coaches just built more faith in me and were a lot more comfortable with me being on the field for longer,” Parodie said when asked what sparked the increase. “The years prior to that, I was more so a rotational corner. My final year, I didn’t really rotate at all, I was playing the whole game.

“I was pretty aggressive in the spring prior to that and in the summer, I was really working on getting bigger and stronger so I’m able to fit up in the run game. They called some plays where I had to be down there in the box or take on a pulling guard or something. I held my own, and it was more so the coaches just having more faith in me.”

Parodie has plenty of athletic traits that will make him an entertaining player to watch over the next few weeks.

Those traits are not the only thing that set him apart, though.

“My best trait is my competitiveness,” Parodie said. “It’s not a great thing to take things personally in the game of football because there’s a lot of emotions, but I like to play with a chip on my shoulder. Pretty emotionally so. That sets me apart because I’m so very hungry being a UDFA, I really want to make the team and make my name be known.

Another thing that sets me apart is my physical attributions. It’s a fast game, and my speed helps me play with a lot of these fast guys as a taller, lankier corner, especially compared to some other corners in the room. Being able to use my size and speed to my advantage is going to help set me apart.”

Being in this position will mean making plenty of plays to catch the attention of the Bucs’ front office and the decision in who to keep and let go that much more difficult. Parodie is among the names vying to round out the cornerback room, along with Bryce Hall, Josh Hayes, Kindle Vildor, and Tyrek Funderburk.

Each day he is on the practice field, the 23-year-old wants to prove everyone who passed on him was wrong.

“I want to show everyone that I belong,” Parodie said. “I feel like being a UDFA, some people might look at me in a different way compared to someone who got drafted. I also went to a smaller school; Ohio doesn’t really send a lot of guys to the league. It’s more so just continuing to prove people wrong and show people that I can be one of the better corners in the league one day.”

As Pewter Report wrapped up the interview with Parodie, we wanted to ask him something unique that people might not know about him.

“Mostly, when I’m outside of football, I just like to walk and look at nature. It’s a little bit weird but I like to be outside, look at things even if I’m somewhere where there’s nothing to really look at. I like to be outside, take in the nature. If there’s a nice walking path, I’ll find myself there a lot. It really helps me clear my mind, focus on what’s important, and get away from reality. With yourself and your thoughts to recalibrate.”

What does not need to be recalibrated is his confidence. Roman Parodie will be ready to get out there and shutdown whoever is lined up opposite him.

“Leave me on an island, bro. Watch me.”