Pewter Report’s Bucs Camp Diaries, a popular training camp feature on PewterReport.com, returns in 2023. We are excited to have two really good players to profile in veteran offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, the Bucs’ first-round pick.

Wirfs will offer up his perspective of Dave Canales’ new offense and learning to play left tackle this summer. Kancey will take readers through the experience of rookie life in his first training camp in Tampa Bay in the Bucs defense. Look for Wirfs’ and Kancey’s Camp Diaries each week throughout training camp and the preseason.

Tristan Wirfs is perhaps the most talented player on the Bucs roster. Entering his fourth year in Tampa Bay, Wirfs won a Super Bowl during his rookie season and has been a back-to-back Pro Bowler and All-Pro. Now he’s facing the challenge of maintaining that high level of play switching from right tackle to left tackle, replacing Donovan Smith. Wirfs is emerging as one of the team’s leaders at the young age of 24 and will share his great perspective with Bucs fans during training camp.

Tristan Wirfs Camp Diary – Entry 1: I Feel As Strong As I’ve Ever Been

I Slid Into Luke Combs’ DMs!

By Tristan Wirfs As Told To Scott Reynolds

In my last Camp Diary, I talked about my summer but I left out one very cool experience. That was when I got to go on stage with Luke Combs and shotgun a beer. That was so cool and a dream come true! I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time. I DM’d him when he started his tour last year and told him I’d love to see him in concert and grab some beers afterwards.

My agent saw his show in Boise and Nashville and it was insane. He replied and said, “Hey, man. You’ve got to come on stage and shotgun a beer with me.” His people and my marketing agent, Alyssa Romano, made it happen.

That was one of the best moments of my life. How did I make it happen? I slid into Luke Combs’ DMs!

You wouldn’t think I’d be nervous, but I was. Getting up on that stage with him was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I’ve obviously had a lot of great moments at Raymond James Stadium – a lot of great wins. Obviously winning the Super Bowl there is No. 1. But being on stage with Luke Combs was probably No. 2 for me.

Getting Good Looks From Edge Rushers In Pads

Bucs OT Raiquon O’Neal and LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The first day of pads was great. As a lineman, it’s something you really look forward to – the first day of camp in pads. It’s when you can really see the running game kind of come to life with the hitting and being physical. You wait all offseason when it’s kind of like flag football to get to this point.

I mentioned this last week but Shaq Barrett is definitely back. He did this cross chop on me and got around me pretty fast. I wasn’t expecting that. And then he’s in hot pursuit of the quarterback. So good to see him back, especially after all he and his family have been through.

YaYa [Diaby] is a very strong, powerful dude. He had some good rushes and you can really see his power now that he’s in pads. Nelly (Anthony Nelson) is just so long and he’s gotten so much better over the last couple of years. He finished last year strong and I was so happy he got rewarded with his new deal. We have so many different kinds of edge rushers that it really helps prepare me for the season and all the different kinds of looks I’ll be facing, especially on the left side.

So I’ll admit it. I even started wiping my ass with my left hand this summer, just to help me get used to doing everything left-handed. After so many years of throwing your right hand first and punching with it, now I’ve got to train myself to throw that left hand first and get used to doing it.

Hanging With Luke, Bob And Baker

I don’t have a roommate in training camp, but I live in this quad apartment that has four connecting rooms. Everyone has their own room but there is this common area we all share. So it’s me, Luke [Goedeke], Bob [Hainsey] and Baker [Mayfield]. Baker is so cool. He’s just a dude.

Bob is definitely the neatest. His room is always clean and he’s kind of a neat freak. I hate to say it, but I’m probably the messiest. But I’m working on that!

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke, OL Robert Hainsey and LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bob has gotten bigger. He’s got to be up to 305 [pounds] now. He was kind of floating right on the cusp last year, but he made that a big point of emphasis this offseason. It’s so crazy because me and Bob hang out quite a bit, and just seeing how much he eats. It’s insane. He really dedicates his time to eating. He’ll look at the time and go, “Oh, I gotta eat, I gotta eat, I gotta eat.” Damn, I wish I was like that. But he’s looking good.

It’s been great getting to build relationship with [left guard] Matt [Feiler] so far. It’s a little different playing next to Matt than it was playing next to Shaq [Mason] because Matt is so huge. It’s going to be a lot of fun with us on the same side with his size – and he’s super smart. I think with us being so big, it’s going to be fun with double teams because we’ll be able to be on the same level and move guys off the line.

I talked about Shaq being back. You guys know the type of energy Ryan [Jensen] brings. You know he’s the enforcer. He just sets a tone when he’s out in the field, especially now that he’s back with the helmet on, getting to go through drills and everything. I think that’s huge for us as an O-line to see that, and for the young guys to see the type of energy that Ryan wants out there.

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