Zyon McCollum’s Hustle And Devin White’s Heart

July 21st, 2025

All players should have Zyon McCollum’s heart.

Man, what could have been.

Joe thought the Bucs were making a huge mistake when they passed on an edge rusher (Josh Allen) for Devin White in the 2019 draft.

Sure, White was a skilled, talented player. But the Bucs, then as now, needed an edge rusher. Oh, sure the Bucs had Jason Pierre-Paul but he was 30. How long would he be there?

Picking at No. 5, the Bucs had a prime opportunity to get a quality edge rusher who could be around for a decade. An inside linebacker? Plenty later in the draft or the following year.

Two years later, Joe was proud to raise his hand and holler,” Guilty!” White turned into a force. Joe sincerely believes if not for White, the Bucs wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl. White had a postseason for the ages.

Sadly, that was his pinnacle. For reasons unknown, White began to slip the next season and when White’s contract ran out in 2024, the Bucs had no interest in re-signing him. Worse, White loafed so much on national TV against the Crows that Bucs icon Warren Sapp called him out on Instagram and then cut up tape to demonstrate how White was stealing Team Glazer loot.

Philadelphia signed him and got rid of him. Houston swept him up and played White in seven games last season before sitting him in the playoffs and waving goodbye.

Now, White is with John Spytek, Tom Brady and Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.

If White doesn’t make it there, it may be time for him to study the UFL. If in three seasons, a linebacker can’t play for Todd Bowles, can’t play for Vic Fangio, can’t play for DeMeco Ryans and can’t play for Carroll, it’s safe to say the linebacker can’t play.

“Narcissist” is how one Bucs type described White to Joe.

Imagine if White had the heart of Zyon McCollum. The Bucs’ starting corner is a hustling machine. He had two of the longest tackles in the league last year. “Longest,” meaning covered the most real estate to tackle a ballcarrier and prevent further damage.

Juxtapose McCollum’s effort with White loafing against the Crows in primetime two years prior. White quit on the play so badly some at One Buc Palace discreetly loved Sapp calling out White publicly on Instagram.

If White had half of McCollumn’s “want-to” as former Bucs linebacker and local radio personality Scot Brantley used to say, White might still be with the Bucs.

Joe doesn’t know the full story of what happened to White. It’s just a damn shame.

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17 Responses to “Zyon McCollum’s Hustle And Devin White’s Heart”

  1. garro Says:

    White was a gifted athlete. Talented I am not so sure about. He had a three game stretch that sure made me sit up and take notice. After that? Nah. Nothing that told me he was Todds “best player”. At All. Constantly blocked out of plays, tackled like a peewee player grabbing instead of hitting could not fill a gap to save his life. Not to mention the loafing. Physical gifts out the Ying Yang but… Neck up as Jason says.

    Hope Zyon has an All Pro season. He has heart and hustle me thinks.

    Go Bucs!

  2. Mike C Says:

    Arrogant.

  3. Dewey Selmon Says:

    White wasn’t a thumper, he would grab a runner by the upper body and spin him to the ground. Never seen anything like it.

  4. stpetebucsfan Says:

    I saw Scot Brantley’s name in this piece and remembered him as perhaps having as much hustle and intensity as I’ve seen in a Buc uni. There are others for sure but Brantley was a ferocious hitter and gave it his all every play.

    I’m a Zyon fan for sure. He’s not afraid to hit at all, although sometimes his youthful exuberance hurts and instead of simply wrapping up and getting the guy to the ground Ronde style he tries for the BIG hit and misses.

  5. ballwasher61 Says:

    That first year when White would get his hands on a guy they went down. And he did thump them with his speed and good angles of attack. Middle of next year not so much but really in his 3rd year he was declining, maybe because he was asked to do different things that took away from what he wanted to do but he played totally undisciplined football. I remember some asking why his numbers were down and he said that because of David having an injury he was asked to do different things than he was used to, Bowles confirmed this. Maybe White was a narcissist in training by this point.

  6. BA’s Red Pen Says:

    He was never the same after his father died in jail.

  7. infomeplease Says:

    As bad as the ILB situation was last season, I don’t miss that horse’s ash one but. I’m not surprised DW can’t stick with a team.

  8. Eckwood Says:

    Plays Short , bad hands, bad lateral movement, didn’t hit hard , bad tackler , 0 pass rush moves , terrible coverage instincts , way way below ability to get off blocks , constantly guessing and out of position, diamond earring with shoulder pads heart/ attitude.
    The Good : top tier down hill speed , good speed to the sideline when shoulders get turned , big mouth

    That was my assessment after 6 or so games and it never changed !!!
    He did string together a good 1/4 season Super Bowl year ,,, When Bowles and the rest of D kept him from being touched .

  9. Goldenbuc Says:

    We should have never let Kwon walk. I do miss Beckwith that was a freak accident that seems like only bucs know about

  10. DavidBigBucsFan99 Says:

    That play and his hustle reminds me of the play Luke Kuechley made against Godwin several years ago. CG14 caught the pass had open field to what looked like an assured td but because of his intelligence, angle and hustle Kuechley ran 120 yards to hold him to a 70 yard completion. To watch McCollom(of the clan McCollom) not only hustle but to see him show the intelligence and instincts of preparing for the expected cut back was a great pleasure for me to see. Had that been White he’d just ran straight ahead, Henry would’ve cut back inside and ran it in for the td. This has been a huge pet peeve of mine against our defense for such a long time and White was so guilty of this.

  11. D-Rome Says:

    He was never the same after his father died in jail.

    I had no idea. The timing definitely correlates.

    We should have never let Kwon walk.

    Yes we should have, LOL. There’s a reason why he never stuck anywhere after Tampa and why he hasn’t been a starter

  12. LakelandBuc Says:

    Devin White was suffering from the “Big Head” syndrome

    He started comparing himself to Ray Lewis
    He wanted to become the highest paid defensive player

  13. Fred McNeil Says:

    White was only in it for the green. I was happy with the choice right off the bat. Then he sat on his laurels figuring he would never have to exert himself ever again.

  14. Lt. Dan Says:

    PSA for all of the young’uns on this here site. Youtube “Scot Brantley Eric Hipple” Brantley would have been fined and maybe banned in today’s NFL. What. A. Hit!

  15. SlyPirate Says:

    CTE

    No one wants to talk about it, but I think White had CTEs that caused his mental decline.

  16. ballwasher61 Says:

    I remember that play Lt. Dan. The shoulder pads inspired the womans shoulder pad style of the 80″s, lol

  17. BucYou Says:

    White looked at his play in the SB run and made up his mind that he was worth $20M/season. I may be mistaken, but on draft day, didn’t he say he was already eyeing a $100M contract after his rookie deal?

    His focus shifted from working towards becoming one of the all-time greats, which he certainly had the physical talent for, to getting paid big money. He lost his focus, alienated the team and the fans, and never recovered. This will undoubtedly become a case study for future players and agents.

 

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