Ted Hurst And Expectations
May 13th, 2026
Ted Hurst has Bucs’ OC excited.
It seems each year in May, Zac Robinson gets a rude awakening.
Right before the combine, NFL assistant coaches become scouts. They begin poring over tape of college prospects that a team’s scouting department has identified as high priority.
Like most NFL fans, they see the tape and get excited. But once those same players are drafted and/or signed, coaches get a quick reminder: The players are prospects and they aren’t close to being NFL-ready.
“Any rookie that comes in, they have a long way to go,” Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was reminded this past weekend during rookie minicamp. “They’ve got their college systems, and there is so many new terminologies that you’re trying to pump the brakes a little bit from an initial expectation.”
But Robinson loves the upside of Bucs third-round pick Ted Hurst. Robinson was turned onto Hurst by Bucs personnel guys back in February. Robinson loves Hurst’s rare combination of size and speed.
“There was a lot of excitement [over Hurst] early in the process, like early February, when we’re starting to dive into these guys,” Robinson said. “‘Hey, you seen Ted Hurst from Georgia State?’ And so there was a lot of [chatter on Hurst] across the building.”
Robinson said Bucs receivers coach Bryan McClendon was one of many on the Hurst bandwagon.
“You can see a great skill set,” Robinson said of Hurst. “Obviously, he’s a true kind of X-receiver. You’re never going to replace Mike Evans, so you’re looking for someone with those skillsets [and] that have similarities.
“[Hurst] can run. He’s got great hands. He’s an instinctual player, you know? But again, he’s gonna have a long way to go. But there’s so many things to like about Ted and just being with him throughout rookie mini camp, really smart, real, real intentional.
“He did a great job handling all the information over a short amount of time. So a lot of things to be excited about him.”
Joe thinks Hurst will be the wild card key to whether this Bucs draft is a success. Everyone thinks Rueben Bain is him. The Bucs are over-the-top excited about insdie linebacker Josiah Trotter. And who couldn’t be stoked about nickel cornerback Keionte Scott?
If a third-round receiver from Georgia State becomes a Pro Bowler, that might put this draft class over the top.
New OC Zac Robinson is ready to revamp a #GoBucs offense with the departure of Mike Evans pic.twitter.com/OzZvGOes5c
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) May 12, 2026
May 13th, 2026 at 7:30 am
Hurst is a real intriguing pick that I didn’t see coming and knew nothing about. Definitely a talented young man that seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I like that he’s a different type of receiver in WR room. Real curious to see how he progresses through the coming months. He’ll definitely benefit from the tutelage he’ll get from our established receivers. That’s a great group for him to be in. With Godwin, McMillan, Egbuka, and Tez leading the way, Hurst can develop without the pressure of having to be ‘the guy’ right away. I’m really liking this pick.
May 13th, 2026 at 7:41 am
looks like this kid can play and is not afraid of the jump in talent. The Bucs Offense should be really something this year as long as that O-line stays intact.
Go Bucs!!
May 13th, 2026 at 8:01 am
It’d be interesting to read about the typical process of how rookies are integrated into Bucs culture, playbook, season routines, etc. And noting that some of these rookies aren’t making the team (UDFAs) and could sign with other NFL teams so you can’t reveal all too much (I hope).
May 13th, 2026 at 8:08 am
Will be so refreshing to have a proper NFL level NFL experience offensive coordinator after the unexpierenced play calling of last season. On top of a great draft and adding free agent, skilled rotation players. Wasn’t getting any hopes up this season but can’t help it now. Fire those candidates one time for the proper moves.
May 13th, 2026 at 8:10 am
Fire those cannons
May 13th, 2026 at 8:17 am
I have to say after watching his tape I wonder how he lasted until the 3rd. He has 1st rd traits no doubt. Makes you think had he gone to Georgia rather than Georgia St it may have been a different story. I have big expectations for this kid and excited to see what kind of role he gets this season.
May 13th, 2026 at 8:31 am
“Robinson said Bryan McClendon, the Bucs receivers coach, was one of many in the building who were on the Hurst bandwagon.”
McClendon worked with Hursts’ HC at GA State under Kirby Smart at Georgia from ’22-’23. Which kind of shows you how small the football world. Pretty cool to have a connection like that to a player we were interested in and eventually able to draft.
I think Hurst can have a rookie season comparable to J-Mac in terms of performance and actually get better down the stretch, instead of starting off hot and cooling off as the season went on.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:10 am
Pump the brakes a little. The knock on this guy is too many dropped balls.
I’ll believe it when I see it. But until then it looks like a big reach.
How’s that David Walker draft pick working out? Remember all the slobbering over that pick???
That’s how you win Superbowls!!!
Fail
May 13th, 2026 at 9:21 am
I would like them to take it slow with Hurst so he’s peaking after game 10 of the season and not hitting the rookie wall. Also believe Zac will utilize Tez a lot more
Than grizzard did.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:29 am
the kid is talented…he has the luxury of being brought along slowly…lets hope he learns his playbook and executes…i think this kid will be GREAT in a year or 2
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 9:48 am
@Lynchmob50,
You can’t accurately grade draft picks until two or three years AFTER the draft.
The only failure is that of the Joe’s failing to weed out trolls in the comments section.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:53 am
Yes there was talk about a lot of dropped balls. He also had among the league worst quarterback play….
I think given the right seasoning he could be a special player.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:03 am
Gym Rat was working out this AM for 6 hours and discussed this very topic with a fella Gym Goer, we both believe this kid will be special
May 13th, 2026 at 10:14 am
I watched a lot of tape of the kid and I’ll Say it again, he looks a whole lot like AJ Green.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:41 am
The only ones excited about the Trotter pick are the “smarter than everyone” guys in Light’s offices. The rest of the league is laughing. It’s 2026, not 1976. Get a dude to play LB in the modern game and he can’t cover. Brilliant.
Meanwhile, let’s see what the juco receiver with the drops can do in real games. No doubt he’ll look like the second coming of Randy Moss against Bowles’ Swiss Cheese scheme.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:12 am
Braswell is going to break out.
David Walker is what the team needs to win a SB.
Kancey is the next Aaron Donald.
A lot of Koolaid this time of year.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:39 am
I don’t know if he can play in the NFL
BUT I can see that he has a large frame and he can get much thicker and stronger with 2-3 years of NFL diet and weight training… not that he is small now, just able to naturally carry his full share of man weight!
May 13th, 2026 at 11:49 am
There’s that word ‘intentional‘ again. Used so often this year it seems kinda weird.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
He looks like a skinny DK Metcalf.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they have the same common male ancestor.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:24 pm
A Pro Bowler as a rookie? He comes into camp as the #4 or #5 WR on the team. I like Hurst a lot, but if he’s having a big rookie year, that likely means the Bucs have once again had a huge string of injuries and are probably struggling. I’ll be very happy with a Godwin like rookie year, where he was behind Evans, D-Jax and Humphries, yet you saw plenty when he got a chance to play. That would be a success.