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The Bucs have open tryouts right now at the cornerback position. On paper, it’s supposed to be Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison at outside corner. But McCollum missed Tuesday and Wednesday’s practices against the Jets and Morrison has been out all of camp, meaning that it’s opened up opportunities for several unheralded players to step up and potentially make the 53-man roster if they can turn some heads.

One of the players that is making the most of his chances is 28-year old Damarion “Pepe” Williams, who took his game up a notch in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Jets. The biggest splash play on the first day of joint training camp practice between Tampa Bay and New York was provided by Williams when he intercepted a pass from Jets quarterback Geno Smith, taking it to the house for a pick-six down the left sideline.

Bucs CBs Benjamin Morrison, Josh Hayes, Pepe Williams and Keionte Scott – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s been Williams and undrafted free agent rookie Ayden Garnes that seem to be next in line to move up the depth chart with Morrison perpetually sidelined by a hamstring injury. They’ve each already surpassed Josh Hayes, who is regarded for his special teams ability, on the depth chart, and may end up having a key role when it’s all said and done.

Pepe Williiams Recalls Pick-Six In Bucs’ Joint Practice

Each rep that Pepe Williams gets on defense is a valuable one, and injuries to other cornerbacks have even allowed him to elevate to the first-team defense on occasion this August. More snaps have equaled more experience and more confidence for Williams, who was on Tampa Bay’s practice squad last year. A tough personal critic, Williams reflected on admitting to having a slow start to camp, but the work paying off with his big moment in Tuesday’s joint practice.

“[I] came in a little slow, a little sluggish, but started picking it up,” Williams said. “Caught the pick, took it back to the house. [I] had to line back up on defense to catch my breath and keep going. Today was smooth. [We have] a lot of stuff to work on and stack better days.”

Bucs CB Pepe Williams – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Williams isn’t a stranger to the Bucs and Todd Bowles’ defense, signing with the team last September. Fast forward a year and he’s finally getting more of an opportunity after bouncing around the league in Baltimore and Seattle before ending up in Tampa Bay.

“Yeah, it was very valuable,” Williams said about the experience he’s accumulated across the league. “It’s a blessing for me and I’m very happy [about] it.”

Bucs Aggressiveness On Defense Is Paying Off

Tampa Bay’s aggressive play on defense has paid off thus far in training camp. Todd Bowles’ unit started the wheels turning with more takeaways last week and it continued against the Jets on Tuesday. Williams’ pick-six was the highlight but inside linebacker Alex Anzlaone also took one away with an interception.

Add in that the pass rush has vastly improved with the additions of Rueben Bain Jr., Al-Quadin Muahammad and the return of David Walker, and one can see why there’s so much optimism for a bounce back season by the defense. The Bucs are taking it one practice at a time, though, while also holding each other accountable.

“It’s the standard,” Williams said. “How we practice, that’s the standard. We want to take away the ball to be able to give the offense a chance or just taking it and go score with it. That’s the standard we’re building in Tampa Bay, and that’s the standard [we’re going] to keep.”

Jets HC Aaron Glenn and Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Head coach Todd Bowles is never going to complain about the takeaways, but he was actually more concerned with some of the penalties that the Bucs defense had against the Jets rather than the plays they made.

“I saw the interceptions…[I was] more concerned about the holding calls,” Bowles said. “There were a couple of those early on, so I’ve got to see the tape and see what those are. It’s good [that] they’re going after the ball.”