Bucs D-line vs. O-line 1-on-1 pass rush notes

• Gerald McCoy looked like a six-year Pro Bowl defensive tackle in nearly every rep against Caleb Benenoch, who looked like a first-year starting right guard as a result. It wasn’t even close. McCoy was on another level on Saturday and made it look easy.

• Pierre-Paul was the same way, whipping every foe whether it was inside at defensive tackle, where he took the majority of reps on Saturday, or at defensive end where Donovan Smith gave him a run for his money, but it wasn’t enough. Smith had some strong reps against Vinny Curry, who took snaps at left end and right end, but looked better at left end going against Leonard Wester.

• Defensive tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu missed last year’s rookie season due to him being placed on injured reserve with a leg injury in training camp. Unless Tu’ikolovatu improves his footwork he won’t have a chance at making the 53-man roster this year. Too often in 1-on-1 pass rush drills Tu’ikolovatu would just stop his feet after making contact with the guard or center he was facing. That easily aided his opponent in stopping Tu’ikolovatu in his tracks. Stopping your feet is a cardinal sin for defensive linemen, and Tu’ikolovatu committed that sin too often on Saturday.

• Defensive end Will Gholston is 20 pounds lighter this offseason and it’s helping him gain some quickness, but he might have lost some power in the body transition. Gholston has never been a great pass rusher, but really struggled on a few reps against Wester, who was filling in again for Demar Dotson, who is being held out of 1-on-1s.

“There is an adjustment period for him, because now – if I’m at 305, I’m not going to get to that spot faster than I would at 280 or something,” Buckner said. “So he’s readjusting his body and he’s feeling it. It’s almost a shock – like, ‘Oh, I’m going this fast, but then he actually goes faster because he’s lighter. That’s what training camp is for. He’ll readjust himself. But it’s great – you’ll never substitute speed for size. I’d rather have a small, fast guy than a big, slow guy. The way the game is played now, they want small guys to tackle and big guys to run, and big doesn’t have to be 350 or 360 pounds. A big can be 285 if they play a certain way.”

• At 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, Bucs defensive end Will Clarke is a cross between Gholston and undersized speed rusher Noah Spence. Clarke had some impressive rushes against backup left tackles Cole Boozer and Cole Gardner. Clarke isn’t as fast as Spence, but faster than Gholston – and he’s as big as Gholston is with longer arms. Don’t count Clarke out.

Gholston and reserve defensive end Patrick O’Connor also got the chance to do some rushing inside at defensive tackle and had some decent results against reserve guards and centers.

• First-round pick Vita Vea showed off his raw power in 1-on-1 pass rush drills at three technique tackle, mostly going against fellow rookie Alex Cappa – and winning. Vea is a juggernaut – an unstoppable force once he gets going. While he needs to work on his initial moves off the snap, Vea has really good balance for a big man and can recover and be effective even after getting stalemated at the line during his initial surge.

“He’s a big man,” Bucs backup center Evan Smith said. “He’s a big man when he gets going in one direction and he’s hard to stop. He’s going to be a definite asset to us. Really good guy, though. You can tell he’s taken to the coaching and wants to work hard and wants to get better and be the impact player that they took. All the stuff they were looking at when they took him at the number they did. I’m happy he’s my teammate. He’s going to help us out. Like I said, it’s a struggle to block him when he gets that momentum going that way.”