The newest member of the Bucs defensive coaching staff, Marcus West, might be having the biggest influence thus far. West has a sincerely positive energy that is palpable when he is coaching at practice and it’s resonating throughout the building. It reaches an intense but necessary level as the Bucs look to wright the ship by revamping the entire defense.

Pewter Report first noticed the relentless effort of West at Bucs rookie mini-camp while working with all undrafted free agents and tryout players. His hands-on approach was lacking with his predecessors in Tampa Bay, and it’s raised the competition level at the position. Now the veterans are feeling his high-energy approach as Tampa Bay’s OTAs have begun.

Bucs DL Coach Marcus West Providing Much-Needed Energy Lift For Tampa Bay

Marcus West, who came to the Bucs after being with the Bills for several season, believes he owes it to his players to bring the energy every day and never let up. He couldn’t help but respectfully chuckle when asked about “trying” to bring energy to the other players during his press conference last week.

“You said ‘try,’ and that threw me off,” West said. “[Try] is a word I never use. The energy that I bring is what I owe to the players. It’s what I owe to my guys, it’s what I owe to the profession, it’s what I owe the the mentors I’ve had. It’s innate. I bring it every day and I tell them to match my energy. A mentor of mine told me this – they’ll follow as you go. It’s my job to bring it every day. It’s not my job to slow down. It’s my guys’ job to speed up. And hopefully, ultimately we’ll see it when we line up to play.”

Bucs DL coach Marcus West – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was asked about West’s coaching style after Bucs rookie mini-camp and couldn’t believe how intense he gets.

“I think he sweats out there and works harder more than anybody out there,” Bowles said. “I love him as a teacher, I told him I don’t know CPR, so I can’t give him mouth-to-mouth if he passes out.

That attitude that West gives off has been noticed by other coaches, too. When inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell was asked about the team and the staff, he went out of his way to single out West for what he’s brought.

“That’s the key, the energy. You see it from those guys,” Caldwell said. “The guys that are younger, those are guys that really, the players relate to. Then we have Marcus West. He’s a younger coach. The excitement on the field, the energy he brings on the field, the staff…I’m excited for it.”

Marcus West Is Thrilled To Be Coaching This Bucs Defensive Line Unit

This season Marcus West will be tasked with getting the best out of some talented players along the defensive line. The Bucs have stars like Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, veteran ass-kickers like A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem “Nacho” Nunez-Roches, and some young up-and-comers like Elijah Roberts, Jayson Jones and rookie DeMonte Capehart, the team’s fifth-round pick.

When talking about some of these players, it was easy to sense how enamored he is to have this group to coach up.

“That excites me. Brought a smile to my face just saying those names,” West said. “Vita Vea is a multi-time Pro Bowler, (it’s an) opportunity to be able to coach that individual on a day to day basis. Calijah Kancey is what he is – a first-round draft pick for a reason. Obviously he hasn’t the full season lately because of injures that have happened, but you got to remember he had a 7.5-sack season two years ago, which is a heck of an accomplishment for an interior defensive tackle. Have the opportunity to bring that out of him again and him coming off of a year of disappointing injuries.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“A’Shawn Robinson is a vet. An alpha male on the field of play. Not just on our side but at the line of scrimmage. He’s an alpha within the line of scrimmage. Nacho – I call him Nacho coach because he’s been in the system longer than anybody. He knows. He’s someone you can often lean onto to understand the things that you need, to understand the nuances and I’d say the details of the system. He understands it, he’s been in it.”

West loves the number of veterans he has to work with and is excited to see how they gel with the team’s younger players along the defensive line. More than anything, West just loves to coach defensive linemen and that became instantly apparent upon his arrival in Tampa Bay.

“They’re professionals and what makes me smile beyond that is all of those are good men,” West said. “I have the opportunity to walk in that room every day and influence good men. I tell them this, that room’s my happy space. No matter what happens throughout that day, when you walk in that room, it’s a happy space. Nobody can have a bad day when you’re in that room.”