The Bucs have a fantastic “Hard Knocks”-like series that they produce in-house called “In The Current.” In the most recent episode of the YouTube series the team profiled the process general manager Jason Licht, assistant general manager Mike Greenberg and the scouting department went through in determining which players the team wanted to target in the 2024 NFL Draft.

There was one characteristic of the players that were ultimately selected that continually came up. In an age where college athletes have more opportunity to move from one school to the another in search of NIL (name, image and likeness) money, higher program prestige or profile, or just additional playing time, the Bucs continually valued players who chose to stick at their original programs.

Bucs Appreciate Players Up For A “Challenge”

Bucs OL Graham Barton – Photo courtesy of Duke

When the episode profiled first-round pick Graham Barton, one of the things college scout Brian McLaughlin praised him on was his loyalty to the Duke football program.

“Graham had a lot of schools trying to get him to transfer and offering him a lot of money,” McLaughlin said. “They knew what type of player he was. And he never really considered it. He is a very loyal, dedicated guy. Truly cares about his teammates. And he believed in that program and that team and what they could accomplish. Those are the types of things that we value in the players we want to add to our team.”

As the episode turned to second-round pass rusher Chris Braswell, loyalty again became a focal point of the evaluation of his character. Director of player personnel Mike Biehl said about Braswell.

“Chris was a little bit tough to do just because he was overshadowed by some of the players that they have had at that same position,” Biehl said. “The one thing that we really liked about Chris was that in the day and age of college football now, and the transfer portal, and the NIL stuff, he chose to stick around at Alabama and compete his ass off. Like, that’s who the guy is.”

Assistant director of college scouting Tony Hardie added, “He’s like ‘Hey’, I think he said he talked about it with his family he said ‘I would never run away from competition. That’s just not me.’ For him to transfer would feel like a failure.”

Bucs Understand If A Player Transfers For The Right Reasons

Bucs DB Tykee Smith – Photo by: USA Today

While five of the Bucs seven draft picks were one-school players, “In The Current” gave a glimpse into when the team might be okay with a player transferring.

In the third round, the Bucs selected Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith, who transferred because he was running towards competition rather than away from it. Smith started his collegiate journey at West Virginia where he played his first two years. He then transferred to the University of Georgia in 2022.

When the Bucs asked him about it at the NFL Scouting Combine, he said, “So, I got on the Zoom with them, and they just showed me different ways they used their star position and nickel position. Being able to show different versatility. I felt like they were one of the best teams returning a lot of talent that year. So, I wanted to go be around that and compete against that every day.”

When Biehl asked him if he was happy with that decision Smith replied, “For sure, definitely happy with that decision. I think I had a good football by learning the game of football from Coach Martin’s perspective. And I was able to talk football better from what they teach you at there. So, and I like the system that they ran.”

Assistant general manager John Spytek spoke glowingly of Smith’s reasons for transferring.

“Tykee didn’t play a lot in 2022,” Spytek said. “Not his fault, similar to Chris Braswell. Here’s a kid that starts at West Virginia. Has a lot of success. He transfers because he wants to play at the highest level.”

While many good-to-great college players will transfer to a high-profile program with a clear hole or opportunity at their position to ensure playing time, Smith transferred into a safety room bursting with talent. That 2021 season featured a defensive backfield that included future first-round pick Lewis Cine, 2023 5th-round pick Chris Smith II, and Dan Jackson who is draft eligible next year.

Smith suffered two lower body injuries in 2021 which limited him to just seven defensive snaps. In 2022 he was not even a regular starter for the Bulldogs, logging less snaps than Smith, Malaki Starks and Javon Bullard. Where he could have stayed at West Virginia and remained a starter for the rest of his college days, Smith chose a path of less certainty and greater competition. That was a reason for transfer the Bucs could respect and admire.

Similarly, the team drafted running back Bucky Irving, who had also transferred after his first year in college (Minnesota to Oregon).

There is no hard and fast rule as it pertains to transferring as a college player that will automatically turn the Bucs on or off to a player. But it is clear from these interviews that it is important to the team that the action (whichever it is) requires a very sound and mature decision-making process behind it. Loyalty and being a teammate is paramount in Tampa Bay.