New draft strategy?

Joe remembers a story former Bucs general manager Rich McKay often told.

McKay even recounted the story on the “Raise the Flags: 50 Years Of Buccaneers Football” documentary, seen exclusively on Amazon.com.

McKay said that when he took over as Bucs general manager in 1995, one thing completely perplexed him: Florida was the king of college football. Yet McKay couldn’t understand why the Bucs shied away from drafting players from those schools.

Back in the 1990s, the college football championship ran through Florida. If Miami, Florida State or Florida didn’t win the title, the team crowned champion had to go through at least one of those teams.

McKay thought, why wouldn’t you want players from those schools? They’re the best of the best and already know how to play in the brutal Florida heat?

So McKay began cherry-picking players from Florida schools. Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn were drafted. Obviously, Sapp and Brooks were critical cogs in the Bucs’ first Super Bowl win.

It seems the past two years, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has taken a page from McKay. The Bucs franchise rarely had guys from Ohio State, Notre Dame or Miami in recent years. Not zero, but very few. That has changed in the past two drafts.

Licht drafted Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State, which won a national title two years ago with Egbuka as a starting receiver.

The Bucs drafted Benjamin Morrison last year and Billy Schaurth this year out of Notre Dame. Two years ago, Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the national championship.

Then last week, Licht got two Hurricanes stars, Rueben Bain and Keionte Scott. Both are from Miami, which played in the national title game this past January.

Yeah, it’s risky as can be to draft guys just because of what college they attended. But if a team is winning games, and either winning a national title or playing for a national title, as McKay once asked, why wouldn’t you want good players from those teams?

What’s wrong with drafting winners?

@thenevinshapiroshowKeionte Scott is teaming up with a familiar face in Tampa Him and Rueben Bain on the same defense is not a site that other teams want to see They did it in college and they’re prepared to do it again in the NFL Is Tampa gonna be a problem for teams next year? What will the Buccaneers record be? Comment above👆🏻♬ original sound – The Nevin Shapiro Show