FAB 3. STEELE READY FOR BUCS TO FEATURE TE POSITION
Tampa Bay tight ends coach Ben Steele is in a unique position being a first-year NFL position coach and getting to coach the team’s first-round draft pick, O.J. Howard, at the same time.

I profiled the fact that Steele has been well received by veteran tight ends Cameron Brate and Luke Stocker a few weeks ago in a previous edition of SR’s Fab 5, but I got the chance to talk to Steele about his new opportunity in a one-on-one during the rookie mini-camp last week after coaching Howard and Antony Auclair, who the team believes is this year’s prized undrafted free agent.

“Without a doubt I’m excited,” Steele said. “Obviously being a first-year tight ends coach here and adding two very good tight ends, including one in the first round, has me excited. Our guys understand that we are not a single tight end offense. We are a two-tight end offense. Having those guys adds depth and scheme to our football team.

Bucs TE O.J. Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We have a great group with a lot of depth and a lot of experience with Luke Stocker and Cam Brate. I think O.J. Howard and the Canadian Machine – Antony Auclair – are going to add value and competition. We’ve got a great group of guys that we’re excited about.”

Howard is the complete tight end that the Bucs have been searching for and thought they might have in Austin Seferian-Jenkins, a second-round pick in 2014. Just from the fact that he is universally viewed as a top-10 talent, Howard is already better than ASJ was walking in the door at One Buccaneer Place before even putting on a jersey or catching his first pass.

“We love the fact that he can block and block well,” Steele said. “And I think everybody has watched the last few national championship games and see what O.J. can do when you throw him the ball.”

As thrilled as Steele is to coach Howard, he is just as excited about Auclair, who played for Univesité Laval, a college in Quebec City, Quebec.

“To be honest with you I’d never heard of him until I saw him at the East-West Shrine Game and I saw him and how compares to these other guys,” Steele said. “I don’t even know where Laval is. It’s in Quebec somewhere. He more than held his own. He had a great week. He obviously opened some eyes and did himself a favor at the East-West Shrine Game.

“He’s physical and he’s got strong hands. From a character standpoint I think he’s going to fit well in the room. He’s a good guy and he works hard. The more you get to know him you find out he’s a football junkie. He’s doing a great job of studying his playbook, but he’s got the physical tools. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s strong and he plays hard. Those are the things that you look for in a guy that’s going to be an in-line blocking tight end, and a guy that is also going to stretch the seams and be a threat downfield. He definitely has the tools and I’m excited to see what he’s going to become. There are a lot of things I like about him and the group we’ve got.”

Steele noted the temperatures for the rookie mini-camp were in the low 70s with no humidity and breezy conditions. Auclair said, “Florida was [expletive] hot” and will be in for a shock when he returns next week for the start of OTAs. Temperatures were close to 100 degrees in Tampa this week and the humidity is beginning to settle in for summer.

“That’s what I told him,” Steele said during the rookie mini-camp. “This is not hot, so you better stay hydrated.”

Bucs TE Antony Auclair – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Steele’s room went from one receiving tight end in Brate and one blocker in Stocker just a month ago to adding two more complete tight ends that can make plays downfield in the passing game and block in the running game. Tight ends that can do both are called “Y” tight ends and they are getting harder to find in the draft.

“Just with the scheme in college football these days where it’s all spread football for the most part when you’re evaluating film you don’t see for the most part guys that have their hand in the ground,” Steele said. “They’re just big wide receivers. Are they physical enough? When you see guys like O.J. and Antony on the line and play strong at the point of attack you get excited. Those two had a good start and we’ll see what happens in the future.”

Coming from Canada, Auclair has farther to go than Howard does in terms of being able to learn the playbook and see time on the field, but he has a real chance to be the fourth tight end on the depth chart. Howard, on the other hand, will become Tampa Bay’s starting tight end sooner rather than later. Brate will see plenty of action, too, as a starter in the Bucs’ two-tight end set.

“It’s going to be interesting to see who they are going to double team – Mike Evans or DeSean Jackson?” Steele said. “We’ve got O.J. and we’ve got Cam Brate. We have a lot of depth now and all of our guys are going to see a lot of action. I’m enjoying this process and building on what we have one day at a time.”