Bucs New Receiver “Baby Julio” Learned Of His Signing On Twitter
May 7th, 2020
Interesting nugget here from one of the Bucs’ undrafted rookie free agents.
This is usually the time of year when undrafted receivers shine in underwear football practices and some fans and media pretend the guys are superstars.
Man, Joe used to take so much grief from various angles because Joe never believed in receiver Kenny Bell, the Bucs’ fifth-round pick in 2015. It was as if various media types didn’t watch practice and thought just because Bell had a wonderful personality, pretty hair and was Jameis Winston’s roommate, Bell was going to catch 45 balls as a rookie. He never did catch a regular-season ball with Tampa Bay.
The Sickness sweeping the world has stolen chances for undrafted receivers to shine in practice like Adam Humphries did alongside Bell in 2015. But Joe was impressed hearing newcomer Jacksonville State receiver Josh Pearson on the Time Skew podcast.
Pearson, a walk-on at Jacksonville State who said he straightened his life out in a hurry after being suspended from football early in his college career, said he had been talking to the Bucs for about two weeks before he got the call to sign shortly after the draft.
In what feels awfully cruel, Pearson said he didn’t learn of his Bucs signing until he read it on Twitter and he lost the chance to break it to his family who found out the same way. Pearson said he had Twitter notifications set up and, poof, he learned he was going to the Bucs before a Tampa Bay assistant coach gave him the life-changing call.
Pearson was very productive the last two seasons, racking up big numbers including 30 total touchdowns. But he said the NFL, for him, is about the ability to do bigger things.
“I want to be able to get on this platform,” Pearson said. “… I can mentor kids and show them the way. Kids that lost parents. … I want the world to know me for the things I do in the community.”
Pearson (6-4, 205 pounds) said he is known as “Baby Julio,” and Julio Jones is his role model.
Per NFL.com, Pearson was suspended for bad grades and later said “chasing women” was his downfall. His scouting report there also says he ran a 4.46 40-yard-dash but his true game speed is exceptional.
May 7th, 2020 at 10:47 am
Bro Tampa ain’t the spot Soo many beautiful women here
May 7th, 2020 at 10:53 am
Sounds like a good kid. With that attitude it sounds like a guy that will do whatever it takes to make the team. A special teams guy that will give it 110%. I’m rooting for him hopefully he he makes it on practice squad and when we have an offseason next year he can try to shine and make the 53 man roster
May 7th, 2020 at 10:59 am
He sounds promising. There are a couple of other UDFA WRs who also look pretty good. Very little room (if any) on this roster loaded with WRs. Hope they all shine, once they get on a field. Soon, I hope.
May 7th, 2020 at 11:02 am
Bad grades & chasing women better than good grades & chasing men.
May 7th, 2020 at 11:07 am
Love this kids attitude. He has the physical gifts to make it. Hopefully he can be our 4/5 receiver bc someone will pluck him off the practice squad.
May 7th, 2020 at 11:10 am
I don’t get the Twitter thing.
He didn’t know he signed until after he saw it on Twitter?
I must be missing something…
May 7th, 2020 at 11:16 am
Probably his less than stellar agent had something to do with him not getting notified in a timely manner.
May 7th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Normally those measureables and stats would get me excited…. but this time last year I thought Anthony Johnson and Demarkus Lodge woukd beat out Watson and Miller.
So lets see what happens
May 7th, 2020 at 11:47 am
Man 6″ 4′ he’s big and fast!! If he learns the playbook quickly and takes advantage of the chances he gets may be a good find!!
May 7th, 2020 at 11:49 am
I always root for the underdog. So I hope this kid makes it. I hate underachievers like lazy ass D. Smith.
May 7th, 2020 at 11:51 am
Joe maybe the pushback you get regarding the Kenny Bell’s of the world is because you’re insulting the hardworking men and women who are store clerks and UPS drivers when you call these young men future store clerks and UPS drivers. Why is it insulting to being referred to as a future blue collar worker? And for the record, Joe includes white-collar work in those analogies: gym teacher, grad student, rental car agent, etc., are in those description of fourth-quarter preseason players. Joe had a friend who also played in 10 preseason games with the Redskins and never made a roster. Joe isn’t making fun of anyone, just calling it like it is.–Joe Not to mention these kids and young men are trying to fulfill dreams of making it in the NFL and have busted their ass to even be considered for the NFL. I had a close personal friend who tried for 5 years to make a final roster. Got close – made it to final cuts but just couldn’t get the break. And I have another friend who’s a co-worker who broke his femur in a Monday Night pre-season game years ago that ended his career immediately. He nor my former friend, nor the countless men and women who work as store clerks or UPS drivers are the knuckle dragging dopes that you make them out to be. Joe doesn’t make anyone out like that.–Joe
May 7th, 2020 at 11:54 am
I’m with cobra… I’m confused!
May 7th, 2020 at 11:58 am
I remember the hype about Kenny Bell. Joe you nailed that one. I thought with all the hype he was going to be very good and yeah not so much.
May 7th, 2020 at 12:12 pm
Adding “future Sports Blog writers to the list would be fair…..
May 7th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
lol at pretending calling them future truck drives isn’t an insult….
LOL.
May 7th, 2020 at 12:54 pm
Didn’t they expand roster size to 55?
May 7th, 2020 at 12:56 pm
lol @ kenny bell…
people were getting wet over the kid…
these things happen during offseasons when teams got nothing
May 7th, 2020 at 1:28 pm
Chasing women is everyone’s downfall.
May 7th, 2020 at 1:29 pm
@ Old Sombrero
I feel the exact same way about this site sh!tting on the low guys on the roster. They run a NFL blog site, so that gives them the right to belittle other LESSER profession’s i guess.
This site has always been tone deaf to this kind of thing and they’re going to post what they’re going to post no matter what kind of feed back they get. Its a live by the sword die by the sword kind of deal I guess.
May 7th, 2020 at 1:55 pm
@Tampabayhomophobe, it’s 2020!!!
Tampabaybucfan Says:
May 7th, 2020 at 11:02 am
Bad grades & chasing women better than good grades & chasing men
May 7th, 2020 at 1:59 pm
‘Chasing women’ was his downfall? You’d think with 4.46 speed he could’ve caught on of them.
May 7th, 2020 at 2:40 pm
Old Sombrero. I agree. Most of these “future beer truck drivers (Joe’s most common descriptor)” have college degrees. Now if he starts calling them future P.E. teachers, and assistant highschool football coaches, well that I could agree with. Just sayin’. In reality, Joe nearly always includes a white collar job description. But those, apparently, don’t upset anyone so a lot of you read past it. It’s you guys who think it’s some sort of negative slap at these people’s life ability, potential and accomplishments, not Joe It’s really not. Here’s one example from last season. There are many others. https://www.joebucsfan.com/2019/08/noah-spence-love-flows-from-jason-licht/
–Joe
May 7th, 2020 at 5:38 pm
The store clerks and truck drivers are what built this great country and keeps it going. Cracking a joke at their expense and devaluing them someone is an insult. They have not been devalued outside of their ability to play like NFL first- and second-teamers. –Joe Those who don’t make the NFL Will become like the rest of us – working stiffs whether it’s a teacher, bus driver, an accountant or a short order cook. It’s your site. You can say what you want. I was just offering a reason why you may get pushback on the mere mention of fan favorite fringe players. By the way didn’t Kurt Warner stock shelves? Oh the humanity.
May 7th, 2020 at 6:06 pm
unbelievable Says:
May 7th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
lol at pretending calling them future truck drives isn’t an insult….
LOL.
…………….
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^
Joe I know you are trying to generate clicks (Joe doesn’t generate any clicks with adjectives deep in articles.) Never have. Never will.–Joe but I Also have always disliked how you do this. Guys are trying to live a dream and if they can’t make it then they are relegated to driving trucks or writing articles about a team they wish they were on????????? Again, you’re assuming Joe and the players feel that not being good enough to play in the NFL and being among nearly 40 roster cuts is some sort of life failure. It’s not. It’s sports. It’s competition. It’s ok for not everyone to win. How many tens of thousands apply to the Ivy League every year (their dream school), don’t get in and go a different route? It’s ok, but it’s still reality. Just because Joe calls a fourth-game preseason player a future UPS driver or grad student or mattress mover doesn’t mean it’s an insult. It really doesn’t. Joe’s got a cousin with a masters degree in some form of waste management. He worked as a garbage man while he got that degree and has an incredible government job. Joe never thought of the guy as a failure because his initial career path didn’t work out for him. –Joe
May 7th, 2020 at 8:24 pm
I’m suddenly reminded of that NCAA commercial about all the student athletes that will go pro in something other than sports. Hmmmmmm….
May 8th, 2020 at 4:07 am
Joe speak ya mind. Truck drivers make Good money. They can’t shame you for being “shallow(i guess)” in your description of of reality.. People be acting soft.