FAB 4. Many Happy Returns In Tampa Bay

The year 2020 marks my 25th season covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for you, the loyal PewterReport.com reader. As I begin this milestone season, I’m going to spend the next 25 weeks telling some never-before-told Bucs stories and recalling some of my most memorable moments in my professional journey.

In my 24 years of covering the Buccaneers I’ve gotten to witness the vast majority of great returns in Tampa Bay history. The year before I started writing for Buccaneer Magazine I was a subscriber while finishing my final year at Kansas State University, and I remember receiving the issue with Vernon Turner on the cover after he broke the curse and returned the first punt for touchdown on October 3, 1994. I had watched the highlights of the Bucs vs. Lions game on ESPN’s “NFL Primetime” from that Sunday as Turner high-stepped his way 80 yards to make Tampa Bay history.

Little did I know that the Bucs would end up scoring a bunch of special teams touchdowns over the next two decades after not having any return TDs in nearly the first two decades of the franchise’s existence. That happened due to the arrival of Karl Williams, an undrafted free agent wide receiver from Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1996.

Karl “The Truth” Williams (1996-2003)

During his rookie season, Williams had a daring 88-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 34-19 season finale win against Chicago. He would go on to score five punt returns for touchdowns, making him the most prolific return specialist in Tampa Bay history. Williams averaged 10.7 yards per punt return and had a team-record 2,279 career punt return yards. Williams had a crucial 55-yard punt return touchdown in a 23-20 win at Detroit in 2002, which was the year the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII.

But Williams and Turner weren’t the only ones returning punts for touchdowns in Tampa Bay in the 1990s. In fact, Bucs legend Ronde Barber scored his first NFL touchdown on a 23-yard punt return for a touchdown at Chicago in 1998. That’s right. It was officially a punt return.

Bucs linebacker and special teams ace Jeff Gooch partially blocked Mike Horan’s punt, which officially traveled five yards before Barber, who was blocking the Bears’ gunner on the left sidelines, scooped up the ball and raced 23 yards for his first of his 14 career non-offensive touchdowns.

While Williams was the most productive punt returner in Tampa Bay history, Micheal Spurlock made franchise history by becoming the first Buccaneer to return a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Micheal Spurlock (2007, 2009-11)

It took the Bucs 32 years and 1,865 attempts to finally record the first kickoff return for a touchdown. On December 16, 2007, Spurlock returned a kick 90 yards for a touchdown against Atlanta to make history.

“Could it be? The great curse has been lifted! There goes Micheal Spurlock!” said Fox NFL play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgergian. That touchdown gave the Bucs a 14-3 lead with just over 6 minutes left in the first quarter. Tampa Bay would steamroll Atlanta that day, 37-3, en route to winning the NFC South title with a 9-7 record.

Spurlock would go on to score two more touchdowns on special teams in Tampa Bay – a 77-yard punt return score at New Orleans in 2009 and an 89-yard kick return TD at Atlanta in 2010. The Bucs haven’t had a kickoff return for a touchdown since 2010. Only one other Buccaneer has returned a kickoff for a touchdown – Clifton Smith.

Clifton Smith (2008-2010)

The Bucs spent a second-round draft pick on Appalachian State wide receiver and return specialist Dexter Jackson in 2008 with the hopes that he could replace Williams as the team’s return man. Jackson was an absolute bust as a return specialist and receiver, but Bucs general manager Bruce Allen and head coach Jon Gruden got a huge mulligan in the form of Smith, who was an undrafted free agent running back and return man out of Utah.

Smith won a spot on the 53-man roster that year and took over the return specialist role early in the season after Jackson faltered. He scored a team-record 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 30-27 overtime win at Kansas City. A few weeks later, Smith returned a 70-yard punt return in a 38-20 win at Detroit.

Smith became the first Bucs player in Tampa Bay history to score both a kick return and a punt return for a touchdown, and to do so in the same season. Smith totaled 992 kick return yards and 324 punt return yards that year and made the Pro Bowl as the NFC’s return specialist, becoming the only Bucs’ return specialist to have such a distinction.

Do you like this edition of SR’s Fab 5? Please donate to PewterReport.com today to help our business overcome the financial hardship due to COVID-19. One-time donations start as low as $10 – or you can donate monthly for as low as $3 per month. Thank you for your support! CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Stay tuned for another Bucs story from yesteryear in next week’s SR’s Fab 5. And if you missed my previous Bucs memories from the past 24 years of covering the team, click on the links below.

SR’s Bucs memories 1-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 2-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 3-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 4-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 5-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 6-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 7-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 8-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 9-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 10-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 11-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 12-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 13-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 14-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 15-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 16-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 17-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 18-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 19-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 20-of-25

SR’s Bucs memories 21-of-25