Tampa Bay Bucs' Mike Glennon the perfect company man By ALAN DELL[email protected]June 7, 2015 
The tenth annual Dick Vitale Gala was held at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota on Friday evening, May 15, 2015. Proceeds from the event went to The V Foundation, named after former NC State basketball coach and friend to Vitale Jim Valvano, who lost his battle with cancer in 1993. Athletes like former N.F.L quarterback Steve Walsh, left, his wife Deanna, Jess Weatherill, and her fiancee Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon were in attendance. DAVID W DOONAN/Special To The Herald TAMPAThe less you see of Mike Glennon, the more you appreciate him.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is the ultimate company man.He doesn't ruffle any feathers and provides a nice security blanket.Glennon's playing time has been on the decline the past two years and could be further reduced if Jameis Winston turns out to be the quarterback head coach Lovie Smith envisions.Glennon filled in nicely as a rookie for Josh Freeman under the Greg Schiano regime and outperformed Josh McCown last year.Unfortunately, Smith kept McCown ahead of Glennon as long as he was healthy, which didn't make much sense with the Bucs sinking into oblivion in a 2-14 season.Now Winston is here, and unless the No. 1 pick in this year's draft flounders badly or gets hurt, Glennon will be holding a clipboard.But this is a good relationship. Winston and Glennon have mutual respect and are feeding off each other's talents.Winston has even said the job is wide open, disputing speculation the job is his to lose."I was never given anything in my life, so the way I was brought up I always have to earn everything. The main thing is to earn the respect of all these players out there," Winston says.If anybody on the Bucs squad has a legitimate gripe or reason to demand a trade it's Glennon, especially when Lovie called him the Bucs quarterback of the future in a time and place that seems centuries ago.Through OTAs this spring, Lovie is still singing praises."Mike is a professional. Whatever we have asked him to do, whatever role we have asked him to play, he's done that," Smith said. "It's about the quarterback position. We want to be as strong as ever, and I feel like we have that with Jameis and Mike. We feel like we can win with either."With Dirk Koetter the new Bucs offensive coordinator, Glennon would have a legitimate right to feel he should have a shot at being the starting quarterback, but in this day and age you don't draft a player No. 1 overall with the intention of sitting him very long.Koetter was the offensive coordinator at Atlanta for three years, where he coached Matt Ryan, the successful quarterback with whom Glennon has been compared since his high school days."It's kind of ironic. Ever since I was a 17-year-old, I had that comparison. Then I went to N.C. State and my coaches had been at Boston College with Matt," Glennon says. "I've been watching Matt Ryan film for almost a decade now. I think we have similar games, and I think Dirk sees that."Glennon is learning his third offense in three years. It's a tough task especially for a backup who doesn't get much opportunity to refine his skills during games.But he takes the same mental approach, which means going about his job as is if he is the starter."You want to be the guy, work like you're going to be the guy, be the best player you can be, take it one day at a time. That's really all you can do," Glennon says. "My (mental approach) is same as always, to improve as much as I can. I want to be a much better player come the end of June."Glennon says he works hard because you never know when your chance will come and denies rumors that he wanted to be traded, though there are quite a few teams willing to make a deal for him."Anything can happen at any given time. I'm always going to approach it like I am going to be the guy," Glennon says. "If that's the way you approach it, when that time comes whether it's the first game or the 16th game, you'll be ready."Winston is one of Glennon's biggest boosters and says he is feeding off his energy and skill set."I've been trying to pick up everything he has because he has been doing great. I look up to him and the things he does are magnificent," Winston says. "We are always competing. When Mike starts making good plays, the intensity of the whole team starts getting up. Once that train gets rolling, it's hard to stop it."Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports. link
