Humphries nervous at cuts, now excited to be a BucGreg Auman, Times Staff WriterMonday, September 7
When NFL teams make their final cuts as they did this past weekend, the best news for a bubble player is often no news, as he often find out he's made the team simply by not getting the dreaded call with news of being cut.Undrafted rookie receiver Adam Humphries was confident about making the Bucs' roster after getting a touchdown and four receptions early in Thursday's preseason finale, but he still was nervous on Saturday's cut day, especially after he got a voicemail from coach Lovie Smith."I was a little nervous at first. He left a voicemail, and all he said was 'Hey, it's Lovie. Give me a call back,'" the Clemson graduate said Monday, having called his coach back to get the good news. "Things were looking good for me, but you never know in this league. ... He told me I'd earned it, that I had done a good job in camp this fall. That was pretty cool to hear it from the head coach. I was jumping around the room, pretty excited."Humphries should have the Bucs' punt return job -- he did that extensively at Clemson, including a touchdown against Louisville -- and should help at receiver, where he's learned all three receiver positions but could help most in the slot."The biggest difference for me in the NFL is the details," Humphries said. "Our offensive coordinator is really strict on details. Getting here was tough, learning all the splits for different routes, and you had to learn three positions. Getting the details down was tough, but I feel comfortable there now and hopefully I can just go out and prove I can do all three."
