Leftover Notes From Day 1 Of Bucs Minicamp 2025
June 11th, 2025How about a midnight snack?
Joe has leftover notes from the Bucs’ first minicamp practice yesterday at One Buc Palace. Why not share a few more?
* Practice began inside the Glazer Shed as it looked like inclement weather was coming. The highlight was a Tez Johnson punt return. He catches the ball, runs to the line angling behind what looked like a wedge, though it was maybe three blockers in the right spot. Then Johnson stopped. No hitting, remember? But there was no whistle, either. All of a sudden, Johnson bolts to the left sideline, turns it upfield and houses the return.
* After the Bucs moved practice outside, Josh Hayes was in a defensive backs drill where the DBs have to sky for a pick. He did his best to elevate and maybe he did a little too much. As he high-pointed the ball, he was dangerously over the end line of the end zone. As he came down, Hayes did an excellent job of finding a way to get two feet down before falling out of bounds. Joe was impressed with Hayes’ footwork.
* Bucky Irving takes a handoff from Baker Mayfield and finds a hole running to the inside of Cody Mauch. Underwear football, however, no real blocking.
* Cade Otton catches a short pass to the left side from Mayfield. Joe hasn’t seen a lot from Otton but from what Joe has seen, he’s not putting the ball on the ground. That’s a good sign.
* Mayfield is very fortunate there is no hitting in underwear football or the Bucs may still be picking up pieces. Mayfield hit Otton deep down the left seam. However, SirVocea Dennis, blitzing from the defensive left side, had a clear and unfettered path to Mayfield. But once Dennis crossed the line of scrimmage, he stopped so as not to hit Mayfield. Could have been very ugly for No. 6.
* Is Johnson rubbing off on Rachaad White? Johnson said he likes to run like a squirrel. That’s what White looked like running to his left. Stop, start, stop, start until he found daylight.
* Kyle Trask hits White in the left flat.
* Sean Tucker weaves through traffic on a run.
* Next play, same thing, though there was too much traffic for Tucker to weave through this time.
* Trask should be called the rainmaker on this throw. Man, he rainbowed a pass that looked like it was dropped from a chopper leaving nearby St. Joseph’s Hospital. When it came down, it came down in the hands of Jalen McMillan to the right. But no! Tykee Smith races in and rips the ball out of McMillan’s hands. Incomplete.
* Tristan Wirfs with a big-ass black knee/leg brace was not a pretty sight. Joe noticed Wirfs watching practice on the sidelines with that thing on his leg. Few minutes later, Wirfs was working out on a side field with trainers, practicing as if he was pulling on a run and working on his get-off. All while two trainers paid rapt attention to him.
* It appeared Mayfield tried to sneak a low pass into Emeka Egbuka’s hands as he headed for the left sideline. Jacob Parrish jumped the route and nearly had a pick. Parrish did knock the pass down. Had he corralled the pass, it would have been a pick-six.
* Trask throws to Otton on the left side. Almost too low. Otton was able to dig it up.
* Irving on a quick snap barrels up the middle for six in goal line work.
* Mayfield throws high to the back of the end zone where only Mike Evans and his basketball hops could get it. Didn’t seem like Evans fought hard for the ball (why, it’s minicamp?). Evans did get a hand on the ball but it bounced off Evans’ hand and hit the crossbar.
* Egbuka hauls in a Mayfield pass down the left seam. Next play, Mayfield checks down to Egbuka in the right flat.
* Tucker houses a run to the left.
* Trask on the loose: It looked almost like an intentional roll out but perhaps Trask was being chased. Trask took off running to the right and when he got near the right sideline Trask launched the ball out of bounds.
* Trask with a quick handoff to Josh Williams (LSU, UDFA) who has a nice gain.
* Next play, Williams hauls in a Trask pass in the right flat.
* There’s a Chris Braswell sighting! Braswell, lined up at outside linebacker on the left side, got pressure on Mayfield enough that Mayfield had to unload it, trying to hit Otton with a low throw over the middle. Incomplete.
* Trask drops back. Seems like he’s locked in on a receiver to the left. Then he glances right. Then he gets happy feet and does a dance of sorts, running in place, feet pedaling but not going anywhere. Then he throws it away.
* Trask rolls left, fires and hits White with a short pass to the left.
* Otton hauls in a pass from Mayfield along the left sideline.
* McMillan goes high for a Mayfield pass at the goal line. McMillan had it but the ball was jarred loose by Smith and McMillan drops the ball in the end zone. Gotta hang on, son.
* Trask connects with Kameron Johnson in the far-left corner of the end zone for six. Johnson is very pleased with himself as he poses, hands on hips, chin raised high.
June 11th, 2025 at 12:16 am
DBs sound like they’re balling and the 32nd ranked backup QB did well.
June 11th, 2025 at 12:24 am
I get the feeling that McMillan will be #4 when the other 3 are healthy. Even in the future, it seems like he is a WR3 (slot). No knock against him, he’s just not that big or physical.
June 11th, 2025 at 12:27 am
Benjamin Morrrison doing some hip work in that picture, be careful please. Nice notes Joe, kinda puts us there.
June 11th, 2025 at 2:14 am
Awesome “lagniappe” there, Joes!
Anything the very small person does right now isn’t surprising. I’m waiting to see what happens after he has his sinuses drained in a preseason game.
June 11th, 2025 at 3:04 am
Tez Johnson Will make the team and not just be a punt returner either . IN training camp and in a regular season game eventually he will make a play that makes it impossible to leave him out of the WR rotation. Barring injury with this receiving crew, not frequent rotation, but specialized situations
June 11th, 2025 at 3:43 am
Great to have two….count em…Two OTA practice reports from Joe!
Wow I think I will have an extra cup of coffee on Suan Son Beach to celebrate!
Thanks Joe!
June 11th, 2025 at 6:55 am
Seems to me like there will be a real battle between both of the Johnsons – Tez and Kameron. Lest people forget, Kameron was a fairly decent part of the offense in 2023.
June 11th, 2025 at 7:26 am
I give them all a lot of credit. It’s very hot outside and they are working hard. Thank you for the details, Joe!
June 11th, 2025 at 7:30 am
is Tucker our best RB?
June 11th, 2025 at 8:31 am
Normally I pick a rookie underdog player to root for each training camp and preseason games. This year I am going with Jacob Parrish who while being a 3rd round pick has somehow been buried deep in the off season hype. Yes I know he has gotten good reviews here on JBF but I don’t know just what it is but he just doesn’t seem to get the deserved recognition.
June 11th, 2025 at 8:57 am
Thanks for the double-feature Joe!
June 11th, 2025 at 9:18 am
Appreciate the comments guys. You are welcome. 👍
June 11th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Beers for the Joes.
June 11th, 2025 at 11:09 am
I gotta get in a thank you, too, Joe. What would we do without you?
June 11th, 2025 at 11:31 am
Great notes as always – thanks Joe! 🙂
June 11th, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for the notes, Joe.
It seems to me JMac gets the ball ripped out of his hands a lot. I seem to recall an interception last year where a DB just literally took the ball right out of his hands.
June 11th, 2025 at 10:36 pm
Yes, I think the Bucs lost a game when MacMillan let a db rip the ball from his hands. He needed to get stronger. But he has a special knack for getting wide open. It will be great watching him and Ebuka. I don’t think it is necessary to consider one WR3 and the other WR4. They should both play a lot.