Hardy Nickerson Endorses Josiah Trotter
June 9th, 2026
Bucs rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter.
There’s a knock on the Buccaneers’ young second-round draft pick.
Josiah Trotter recently turned 21 years old and the All-SEC linebacker is said to have issues in pass coverage.
Is it a fair criticism? Maybe. But it’s also fair to say Trotter is still learning and he wasn’t asked to cover a ton of pass catchers in college. So he’ll have to develop those skills. Stil, Trotter was an All-SEC linebacker (coaches’ choice) last season at the University of Missouri. That’s no small feat.
Arguably the second-best linebacker in Bucs history, Hardy Nickerson, was asked about Trotter during his visit to The Sports Web last weekend.
“He’s got the traits and you can best believe that’s not going to be the issue with him,” Nickerson said of Trotter, after acknowledging a young linebacker can learn to cover in the NFL. “He’s going to be a ballplayer based on his pedigree.”
Trotter is the son of four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Nickerson coached in the NFL and college and now is a high school head coach in California.
Pedigree often matters. Trotter, like Antoine Winfield, Jr., is likely a rookie beyond his years. Winfield’s dad was a three-time Pro Bowler at cornerback, and young Winfield was a key rookie cog of the Super Bowl champion Bucs of the 2020 season.
Joe’s biggest wonder is how long it will take to get young Trotter up to speed.
The Bucs, under Todd Bowles, are not known for developing young inside linebackers. And Trotter does not have Devin White’s raw skills.
June 9th, 2026 at 6:21 pm
Know who else had a pedigree? Ryan Nece. How did that work out?
Let’s just pump the brakes on this pedigree talk.
June 9th, 2026 at 6:24 pm
Then what is Todd Bowles know for? ?
June 9th, 2026 at 6:32 pm
@bojim eating kitkats.
June 9th, 2026 at 6:59 pm
LBs need a some time e for development. Roquan Smith, Fred Warner, even Anzalone wasn’t all pros their first year.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:03 pm
‘Joe’s biggest wonder is how long it will take to get young Trotter up to speed. The Bucs, under Todd Bowles, are not known for developing young inside linebackers. And Trotter does not have Devin White’s raw skills.’
You never disappoint Joe; stir the pot. I’m sure that Josiah will get plenty of defensive snaps, but I’m not even convinced at this point that he’ll be our MLB starter come Game 1.
Todd Bowles will be coaching for his life this season, and I’m not sure he’ll be up for taking significant risks. Personally I think that’s why the Bucs have brought in so many veterans on defense. Trotter has all preseason to earn a starting gig.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:13 pm
Shllo Sanders (allegedly) had a pedigree too
June 9th, 2026 at 7:22 pm
An endorsement from Hardware?! Yeah I’ll take that. My hypothesis is that Hardware knows a bit more about MLB than all posters here combined x 1000.
Still – have to prove it on the field. I’m excited about this young man.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:28 pm
21 friggin years old. All SEC. He’ll make an immediate impact and is just scratching the surface of his potential.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:34 pm
We signed two vets at ILB for this very reason, if Trotter isn’t ready they can package him til he is…
June 9th, 2026 at 7:38 pm
“An endorsement from Hardware?! Yeah I’ll take that.“
Exactamundo, if El Dragon vouches for this kid that’s a pretty high compliment.
“LBs need a some time e for development. Roquan Smith, Fred Warner, even Anzalone wasn’t all pros their first year.“
Unrealistically high expectation, all we want is for his style of play to translate while taking some strides playing in space as a pass defender. Expecting anything more than that is resident of Imaginationland level expectations.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:46 pm
I’m a Bucs fan since 1976. Party Hardy started the change in Tampa when coming from Pittsburgh, but in my opinion he’s the Bucs 3rd best LB. Derrick Brooks and Levante David are 1 and 2. I truly believe Hardy should have been placed up on our wall along with our many greatest Bucs, but Brooks is there and David will be next. Brooks is a HOF and so shall David. Hardy is a Bucs HOFer in my opinion but not in the owners eyes yet. As for Trotter let’s hope he puts his name into that list of great Bucs LBs like Cecil Johnson, Dewey Selmon, Hugh Green ( who may have been the best if not for our cheap racist owner with the same first name) Sheldon Quarles, Kwon Alexander and Shaq. Tampa is pulling for you Josiah Trotter! Go Bucs.
June 9th, 2026 at 7:51 pm
Devin White was no genius, and he made an immediate impact. Trotter will too. They didn’t draft him to sit, and learn. He’s going out there opening day.
June 9th, 2026 at 8:17 pm
This was my biggest concern with our draft.
Pass defense.
None of the defenders we drafted are known for their pass defense skills.
The more I read and learn about them, the more I think we made some really good picks.
They’ll excel in other ways. Trotter will do fine and will develop his pass defending skills.
But yeah, at some point, you’ve got to wonder if they’re paying attention in the front office to what our needs really are.
You could land a 747 out in the flat with the defense we had last year
June 9th, 2026 at 8:29 pm
Please keep in mind the guy is young and a rookie. He will need to develop, count on it. The scary part, he is very young and Anzalone is 31. There is no depth behind them, unless you call Dennis depth. So presently the whole pass defense is a gamble between the LB!’ And CB’s. Let hope the safeties play really well and the nickel position too. Yes the current pass defense is a huge gamble right now.
June 9th, 2026 at 8:46 pm
Hardy was the end of the yucks and the start of a great run. Hardy changed the culture of the whole team in 95 or 96 true or false? his endorsement means something
June 9th, 2026 at 8:56 pm
Football 1 … Bucs also signed a LB named Christian Rozeboom who’s started 26 games in the past 2 years (11 for the Rams & 15 for the Panthers). I’d say he’ll make pretty good depth.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:03 pm
@MJ
Hardy is probably one of the most underrated Bucs of all time. Dude didn’t make his first Pro Bowl(when it was actually about talent) until he was >30 yrs old and he was a bonafide wood layer.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:03 pm
Trotter will be more like the animal in harness racing playing for this Genis. What a disaster.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:22 pm
I’m not too concerned about year 1. A lot of Bucs LBs in recent years had their best season in year 1. In limited action Britt and Dennis looked like they might be answers annnnnnd off a cliff they went.
The rookies still play with natural instincts. It’s only year 2 and beyond where they are not developed and plateau or they get bored or they start thinking about next contract and lose focus.
Todd has done all he can though, it’s on the leadership in the room to keep guys heads right.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:24 pm
All SEC and just a child. He came out WAY early. He likely would have been a first rounder in a year or two.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:43 pm
Long term, I think he could be special. This year he will be targeted and abused in coverage, even on ‘run downs’.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Ain’t nobody arguing Hardy was better than Brooks or LVD, but he was arguably a better team leader than either of them. Hardy truly was worthy of the “C” on his jersey, unlike AWJ or LVD..
June 9th, 2026 at 11:06 pm
Hardy Nickerson helped change the entire culture of a losing franchise. One of my favorite all time Bucs.
I remember when he was signed and one of the first practices Keith McCants lazy ass was loafing and Hardy wasn’t having it. He called him out and McCants didn’t like it. Hardy ended up kicking his ass in a fight in practice and got everyone’s attention on the team. After that things changed quickly.
June 9th, 2026 at 11:38 pm
@ Defense Rules –
I have to think that the Bucs came out of the draft believing Trotter is somehow better than Anthony Hill, Jr., and Trotter he will be the starter this year. Rozeboom is more like a hope, and Dennis is more like a prayer.
Rozeboom started at Carolina last year, but his PFF numbers for 2025 look a lot like those of SirVocea Dennis who started at Tampa last year.
Now, in 2024, Rozeboom’s PFF numbers for the first half of the season were as bad as his 2025 numbers. But, he had a very well rated second half of the 2024 season.
So, I think that the Bucs hope that Rozeboom plays like the second half of 2024 if they ever have to start him. And, I think that the Bucs pray that they never have to use Dennis except as a blitzer.
Christian Rozeboom vs SirVocea Dennis in 2025:
– Rozeboom PFF coverage grade 74th, Dennis 84th among 88 linebackers.
– Rozeboom run-defense grade 75th, Dennis 42nd
– Rozeboom pass-rush grade 44th, Dennis 13th
– Rozeboom 89 solo tackles, Dennis 79
– Rozeboom 7 total pressures , Dennis 19
– Rozeboom 2 sacks as a blitzer, Dennis 4 sacks as a blitzer
– Rozeboom 109.3 passer rating when targeted, Dennis 114.9 passer rating
– Rozeboom 19 missed tackles, Dennis 14 missed tackles
i
June 10th, 2026 at 12:11 am
what skills did white have
Fast 40 that’s it
bad hands
short arms
stiff
bad change of direction
was like concrete shedding blocks
couldn’t cover
loved horses more than f ball
??
June 10th, 2026 at 12:46 am
Like ekwood just said, trotter has every trait that white had with the exception of elite speed. And by all accounts better stuff between his ears. And the pedigree. He’s quite young, but I expect he will mature pretty quickly.
June 10th, 2026 at 6:13 am
Rozeboom started for the Panthers last year.
He started for the Rams for many years.
Rozeboom was a very smart signing.
Anzalone is a stud. Rozeboom is a hard worker and a tough dude.
Trotter is lucky to have two experienced LBs to learn from.
I was not impressed with Nick Jackson or John Bullock.
But Dennis was great on special teams.
I’m happy he will return to special teams.
June 10th, 2026 at 6:20 am
I remember when he left Hardy took out a huge ad in the Tribune thanking fans something I haven’t seen since.Deckerhoff sure called his name a lot.
June 10th, 2026 at 7:07 am
“I was not impressed with Nick Jackson or John Bullock.”
15 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFLs and a pick from a rookie UDFA in 3 preseason games?
You didn’t like that?
Tough crowd. I learned awhile ago to give the benefit of the doubt to pretty much anybody that comes out of Iowa. Not a nationally lauded team, but man do they put together some tough, disciplined football teams with players that fit that mold.
June 10th, 2026 at 7:30 am
Weakest part of Bucs D last year was ILB especially vs the pass, although they also slipped against run too due to poor play by David. Anzalone was a good signing to replace Dennis. Anz is very good at LOS and stopping the run. He is ok vs pass. Certainly better than anyone else the Bucs had last year. David vs the pass was elite during SB run and shut down kelce and chiefs in that game. This draft had 3 very good ILBs vs the pass in Rodriguez, Allen and Hill. All went in second round and Bucs got none of them. trotter will be a good ILB and likely be the heir apparent to Anz once he moves on. But unfortunately the Bucs D will continue to struggle in pass pro because they failed to address it in FA or the draft
June 10th, 2026 at 7:38 am
This current Bucs team could really use a Hardy Nickerson! It is awesome to see so many fans remember him for what he was: a player who changed the ENTIRE losing culture. If you were grading strictly on leadership, he would be #1!
June 10th, 2026 at 8:08 am
Just what are the Bucs under Todd Bowles known for developing on the defensive side of the ball? Anything.
June 10th, 2026 at 9:01 am
Let’s not forget Cody grims pedigree
June 10th, 2026 at 9:53 am
Todd is rolling the dice with adding pressure to the QBs this year. It’s obvious with picking Trotter. So expect teams with good Oline to enjoy the open flats again this year.
RINSE AND REPEAT
June 10th, 2026 at 9:55 am
Bosch asked, “Just what are the Bucs under Todd Bowles known for developing on the defensive side of the ball?”
Career days for opposing quarterbacks, especially when they’re backups or rookies, or a dude named Kirk Cousins (who sucked so hard against everyone else, scientists had to redefine what pure vacuum is).
June 10th, 2026 at 10:48 am
Rozeboom is just as significant a risk as Trotter. Thanks for the comparison @Toopanca. It’s no small wonder why the Panthers were ready to move on from him. He is not an upgrade or even a competent fill in. Might as well just keep Dennis in there or rotate with Trotter. JL had ample opportunity to bring in some quality young FA at ILB but chose the washed up Rozeboom instead. While the other team is landing the 747 in the flat, they can land the Chinook in the middle. Thanks JL.
June 10th, 2026 at 11:46 am
If hardy says something its pretty much gold.
Particularly about culture in a defense…man he was incredible
June 10th, 2026 at 10:18 pm
3.28 and Bosch players on defense that won us a SB. Vea , whitehead , SMB, Davis , windfield , white , Dean , Edwards also he’s developed smith , izen , Parrish, kancey , yaya , and zion. Oh don’t forget he held the chiefs who had the best offense to 9 pts in the biggest game in football. Y’all have ? ? takes ??
June 10th, 2026 at 11:47 pm
In remembering great Bucs linebackers it’s great to see someone who remembers Hugh Green.
But — what about Scott Brantley? Surely Eric Hipple won’t forget him. Nor Steve Duemig, for those who listened.