Roy Miller is giving up his No. 93 to his new teammate and former bitter college rival, Gerald McCoy.

When Joe thinks of historic college football rivalries, Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan and Notre Dame-USC spring to mind.

One that may go overlooked but should not is Oklahoma-Texas, the Red River War. Players from these schools, and people from these states, just don’t like each other. Not at all.

So it was somewhat surprising to Joe to learn that Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller, a former stud at Texas, is giving up his No. 93 to the Bucs’ first round draft pick and fellow defensive tackle. Gerald McCoy, he of the Oklahoma Sooners.

That’s the word from GMC’s Twitter feed.

@GK_McCoy  #93 continues baby. I don’t plan to disappoint. Shout out to Roy Miller for giving me my # back.

A Longhorn helping out a Sooner? Have cats begun sleeping with dogs?

Or is this just a solid Bucs player trying to make his new teammate, and a player who he will likely share playing time with or play alongside, make the new young stud feel welcome?

Or did GMC pay off Miller? Wonder if, in payment, this October when Texas and Oklahoma play, that as part of the price, GMC will have to wear a cowboy hat, a Colt McCoy jersey, and yelp “Hook ’em Horns?”

"I wonder if Aqib scored us Justin Timberlake tickets."

Joe cringes when he hears players — at any level — call their coaches by their first names, especially publicly.

Call Joe old school, but it doesn’t feel right. And it seems like a lack of respect.

So when Joe was in studio on the radio Friday night with Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, interviewing freshly drafted Bucs defensive tackle Brian Price, Joe stopped in his tracks hearing Price refer to his new head coach as “Raheem.”

C’mon. Calling your new coach by his first name 30 minutes after getting drafted? That just ain’t right.

Joe knows Raheem The Dream is a modern-day, young head coach who hangs out with his players, tolerates foul language directed at him and has a more casual protocol. Hey, if it wins games, Joe doesn’t care.

But, given the Bucs are not a winner, Joe thinks Raheem The Dream should demand more respect. Maybe he told Price and other rookies to only call him “Raheem.” Regardless, Joe doesn’t like it.

Joe just wants to thank his readers for turning to JoeBucsFan.com in droves over the past five days. Joe is blown away by the support.

April is already another record month for this site, which is great because Joe thought it might be hard to top March’s numbers. Also,  Joe is very pleased that a technical upgrade behind the scenes worked perfectly, and the site never crashed during the NFL Draft.

Also, Joe wants to take this moment to reaffirm his commitment to delivering the most diverse, unique and addictive Bucs news, analysis and commentary known to man. Why, Joe even turned down a sizable cash offer from a national company to buy this Web site recently. Joe will not abandon you.

In fact, Joe has an interview scheduled later today that will be a timely treat for hardcore Bucs fans. Joe’s fired up to talk to this guy. So don’t forget to come back. The interview will post tonight or tomorrow.

It seems whenever a writer discusses Bucs rookie wide receiver the words “talented” and “character” are both in the lead sentence.

It seems someone who has known Williams for some time is tired of it. Williams’ high school coach Tony Truilizio is sick of reading about how his former player is some sort of headcase. So Truilizio decided to go on the offensive in defense of his former player, and Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune was receiving the message.

“I’ll be dead honest – he doesn’t have a character issue at all,” Truilizio said. “He is probably one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s a compassionate young man, devoted to his family. He is not a discipline problem. The kid doesn’t even swear or use profanity.

“He is not a punk kid, not an urban city gangster. His mother brought him up the right way and he has respect for authority. Mike is a steal.”

Joe is trying to remain objective if not numb to all of this noise about Williams’ personality. Still, Joe can’t help but admit he’s anxious if not excited to see how Williams performs on the field with Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, Lord knows Freeman needs help.

The fact Bucs general manager Mark Dominik told Peter King Williams could start in Week 1 is enough to distract Joe from fantasizing about Rachel Watson if for a brief moment.

Early this evening Joe noticed Bucs fans Twittering that NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi mentioned the Bucs were trying to find someone, anyone, to take blocking icon Michael Clayton off their hands.

Unfortunately, Joe was stranded at a watering hole due to the heavy rains, virtually imprisoned and subjected to cold beer and warm, busty waitresses with the Cardinals-Giants baseball game on the big HDTV, thus unable to find this evidence on his Blackberry.

Joe missed the Sunday evening NFL Network draft recap, and so perhaps missed the Lombardi mention of the blocking icon.

Well, as Joe is wont to do, he was surfing for Bucs news and came across an article by Lombardi on NationalFootballPost.com timestamped 1:01 p.m. today stating in fact, the Bucs are shopping Clayton.

Tampa Bay was looking to move wide receiver Michael Clayton during the draft. I wonder now if they’ll move him off the roster this week.

Whoa, could it truly be that the blocking icon has just a mere hours left in his days as a Bucs wide receiver? It’s not shock that with the three receivers the Bucs added last week (two in the draft and one undrafted free agent), Clayton and his salary were going to be pushed down the depth chart.

Joe is rather stunned to read Clayton just might be shipped away.

If Bucs fans don’t think Bucs general manager Mark Dominik can’t pull this off, consider Dominik found someone to give up a draft pick for journeyman quarterback Luke McCown and coerced the Bears into giving up a second round pick for defensive end Gaines Adams, a player who couldn’t start for one of the NFL’s worst defenses.

Don’t sell Dominik short on getting someone for the blocking icon.

Raheem the Dream took a break from his busy weekend to talk to the NFL Network crew. Raheem the Dream spoke about all sorts of things including how to use his new “toys” and exactly what kind of a defense the Bucs will use this year.

Raheem The Dream also wanted to sign Rich Eisen based on his 40-time at the NFL combine.

With a mad scientist look in his eye, the head coach answered the million-dollar Bucs question during an interview on NFL Network late Saturday.

The head coach was asked to explain the plan for his defense after drafting Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, two defensive tackle manbeasts who seem suited for the same position. That mystery was a topic of interest at various times on the network during the draft.

“We’ll always be Tampa 2 …that’s our brand. But with our picks, you make yourself so creative as a defensive coordinator,” Raheem The Dream said.

After Joe saw this interview, Joe couldn’t help but remember that Raheem The Dream is the same guy who looked at his personnel last year and signed off on hiring Jim Bates and his ill-advised two-gap system. Joe didn’t like that “creativity.”

While it’s awesome to have supreme talents like Price and McCoy, getting the most out of both of them will be quite a challenge.

Raheem The Dream may very well be up to it. But Joe would feel a lot less uneasy if creativity wasn’t such a key element entering the season.

Veteran St. Petersburg Times columnist Gary Shelton cautions fans not to get overly excited about the Bucs draft until a few games have been played. Even with that information, Shelton admits he’s having a hard time not being giddy over Bucs general manager Mark Dominik’s second draft.

There’s no question that the Bucs loaded up on the two positions that were in dire need of upgrading with last week’s draft. One could argue that the Bucs went from having an awful defensive front line to a good one with the selection of Gerald McCoy and Brian Price with their first two draft picks.

The Bucs then went for wide receiver with Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams.

It appears, if his attitude is right, Williams could be more of a steal than Sammie Stroughter was last year in the seventh round.

The Bucs think so highly of Williams that, per Bucs general manager Mark Dominik via Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, Williams just may start on opening day. That’s what King Twittered.

@Deyaniera You like the Bucs draft as much as the locals? They’re raving

@SI_PeterKing Dominik told me Syr’s Williams could start at WR as rookie.

This means one of two things if not both: Either Williams is that talented or the Bucs wide receiving corps was that dismal. Joe sort of thinks it’s the latter.

Joe heard Bucs general manager Mark Dominik talk about how deep this last week’s draft was, Joe was becoming numb.

Apparently Dominik was right, at least on paper, at least a few hours after the draft ended, which is terribly premature to judge how a draft should or will be ranked.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com is giving out his grades already and he’s ready to laud Dominik has having one of the top draft classes of the year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Best pick:  I like the choice of receiver Arrelious Benn in the second round. He has loads of talent and will become Josh Freeman’s go-to receiver.

Questionable move:  Receiver Mike Williams quit the Syracuse football team, which dropped him down. But he is a big-time talent who might turn out to be a heck of a player.

Third-day gem:  Dekoda Watson is an athletic linebacker who fits in perfectly with what Tampa Bay wants to do. Getting him in Round 7 is a steal.

Analysis:  I absolutely love their draft. General manager Mark Dominik did a great job with a lot of picks. The Bucs have a great young group to build around.

Again, it’s way too early to hand out grades. On paper, it looks like Dominik and his staff got the job done.

Joe wonders whether the Bucs not drafting an offensive lineman means there are high expectations for Arron Sears.

Joe’s wants to share some happiness.

Here’s a group of nine who’s probably drinking champagne or sleeping soundly right now:

9. Sabby The Goat – He’s grazing comfortably about now. The Bucs didn’t try and replace him. Joe’s not suprised. All along Joe was confident Raheem The Dream would keep his plan to “fix” Sabby The Goat in time for 2010.

8. King of Turds – Call Joe an unforgiving ass, but Joe always roots for the Bucs to cut Jerramy Stevens, aka King of Turds. No tight end in this draft means he’s coming back — again. Joe wonders, if Stevens is so valuable, why haven’t the Bucs figured out how to use him?

7. Stylez White – By only drafting a defensive end with their final seventh round pick, the Bucs eliminated all doubt that White would enter a season as the starting right end for the first time. And it’s a contract year for him to boot. Plus, the Bucs added two manbeasts in the middle of the line. What more could White have asked for? White’s got to get double-digit sacks, and the Bucs desperately need him to stay healthy. Stylez is taking this opportunity very seriously, so he told Joe.

6. Kyle Moore – Immediately following the draft, when asked why the Bucs didn’t draft a left defensive end with great promise, Raheem The Dream responded by praising Moore’s offseason preparation and improvement late in 2009. The Bucs passed on Jimmy Wilkerson in free agency, didn’t draft a top defensive end and obviously have Moore and Tim Crowder targeted to fight it out at left end and/or backup Stylez White. Moore has to be happy he didn’t get the Roy Miller treatment in this draft.

5. Kareem Huggins – Dominik passed on a running back, thereby letting Raheem The Dream have an easier path to the roster for his Hostra boy on the practice squad. Huggins looked good at running back in preseason last year before a minor knee injury. With Clifton Smith returning from concussions, Joe’s guessing Smith’s not going to get many, if any, carries in 2010.

4. Michael Clayton haters – The blocking icon’s chances of making the final roster went from about 80 percent to 20 percent in a matter of hours.

3. Josh Freeman – His spouse, the head coach, didn’t let him down.

2. Arron Sears – While Sears remains under lock and key and shrouded in a cone of silence at One Buc Palace, the Bucs didn’t draft an offensive lineman. Perhaps they were fearful Sears would need to wear a helmet year-round if they did. Or perhaps Sears is coming along very well and the Bucs expect him back at full strength.

1. Chucky – The BSPN faithful know he loves everyone and everything, man.

The signing of former Florida State wide receiver Preston Parker is interesting. He was widely thought to be one of the better players on an otherwise sorry Seminoles offense that slowly came out of hibernation under offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and quarterback Christian Ponder.

A year ago, Parker, thought to be a star as a senior, who dabbled with weed, was dismissed from the team after his third arrest. In 2007 he was voted Florida State’s offensive MVP.

Last year, he toiled at Division II North Alabama.

Parker is a fleet-footed multipurpose player who can run the ball, catch the ball and return kicks. In other words, he’s a poor man’s Dexter McCluster.

For whatever reasons, his numbers declined in his last year at Florida State. Playing at a Division-II school is pretty much a wash as far as numbers go.

This is a nice little gamble by Bucs general manager Mark Dominik. It’s a virtual no-risk/high reward move.

When the Bucs draft ended after selecting Stanford defensive end Erik Lorig with a compensatory seventh round pick (third to last), it was clear Mark Dominik handed off enough talent to Raheem The Dream to give Dominik a good-enough grade and to give the head coach all the pressure he could possibly want.

The Bucs have to improve in the standings with this bunch for Raheem The Dream to keep his job.

Joe’s not ramping up expectations, but, as Joe wrote previously, three or four wins won’t cut it no matter how patient Team Glazer claims itself to be.

Dominik was excited at his news conference about the quality of their picks, even very fired up about his seventh rounders, and he said a pile of additional new blood is on the way. “We are busy upstairs signing 10 or 12 college free agents. … And that speaks to the quality in this draft,” he said.

The baton has been passed. Good luck, Raheem.

*Joe will have choice nuggets from Raheem The Dream’s post-draft news conference later, and more quotes from Dominik, too.

Wondering what happened to the Bucs pile of seventh-round draft picks?

Turns out Mark Dominik traded two of them to the Broncos for their 2011 fifth-round pick, the Bucs are reporting.

Sure seems like a good deal.

Dominik planned some late wheeling and dealing, so he said this morning on WDAE-AM 620, but surely this isn’t what Joe had in mind.

The legacy of Florida State linebackers being drafted by the Bucs continued Saturday when the Bucs picked up Dekoda Watson.

Watson was one of the few bright spots on a terribly unusual horrid defense last season. While Watson is strong against the run, his lightning speed made him a lethal blitzer racking up nine sacks for the Seminoles in 2009.

Watson isn’t much on pass coverage, so if he is in the game on third down it’s to rush the quarterback. Watson’s speed will likely mean he will be a special teams player to start out.

Watson played on the field at the same time as current Bucs starting linebacker Geno Hayes and former 49ers linebacker Buster Davis.

Joe suspects somewhere, Derrick Brooks is smiling.

With the third pick in the seventh round, the Bucs have scored an overachieving, undersized linebacker, Cody Grimm out of Virginia Tech.

If the name sounds familar, it should be. His dad is Russ Grimm, Hall of Fame offensive lineman who was a member of the famed Washington Redskins’ Hogs and is now an offensive line coach with the Arizona Cardinals.

Sirius NFL Radio analyst Gil Brandt said Bucs fans should expect Grimm, just 5-11, to be a special teams warrior and a backup safety.

The Washington Post just wrote a neat feature on the kid. He’s projected as a strong safety in the NFL.

The big issue with talented Bucs fourth round pick, receiver Mike Williams, is that he quit on his team last fall.

Williams is irritated with this label, writes The Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times. Williams contends that he did not quit on his team, that his absence for the final three games of the Syracuse season was a “miscommunication.”

Torrey Ball, Antwon Bailey, Andrew Tiller and Williams were in a Ford SUV that was rear-ended by a tractor trailer at 5:30 a.m.

No alcohol was involved and the truck driver was charged in the accident. Ball, Bailey and Tiller were suspended but Williams left the team.

“Oh, yeah, it bothers me a lot,” Williams said Saturday. “Because if anybody knows me, even coach Marrone would tell you I’m not a quitter. If anybody knows me, they know I don’t quit anything. If I was a quitter, when I got suspended because of my grades, I would’ve quit Syracuse then. When I got suspended for that game for my paper, I would’ve quit Syracuse then. I was never a quitter. I never, ever did that. That’s not my style. Tampa Bay will see that. They’ll see I’m going to go out there and fight hard for everything I do, everything I get. It does kind of get to me when people say I’m a quitter because that’s not a word that I even use.”

Joe’s not trying to bag on the kid. Not at all, but BS is BS.

If a player did not play the final three games of the season that means one of three things happened: He was either injured, he was told by someone with the school or team he couldn’t play or he chose not to play, meaning he quit.

Williams by all accounts was healthy. That means he was either thrown off the team or he quit. There’s really no gray area here. You don’t miss three games because of a “miscommunication.” Come on.

Look, Joe hopes this guy Williams is a future Hall of Fame receiver. But trying to con people like this isn’t the way to try to clean or polish your image or endear yourself to your new fanbase. If you made a mistake (which Williams told Dominik he did), you made a mistake. We’re all human. We all make mistakes (Joe drinking a non-Caybrew product last night was just such a mistake),

Either man up or don’t talk about it.

Earlier it was Chris Hovan on the block. Now it seems defensive tackle Ryan Sims is on the market, too.

Mark Dominik is apparently dying to unload at least one of those older manbeasts.

Joe has learned about Sims from St. Pete Times Bucs beat writers Stephen Holder’s Twitterings from One Buc Place.

Bucs are gonna have a hard time recouping anything for Hovan but they’re trying. Ryan Sims available too. Also a long shot.

Joe’s not suprised. If the Bucs have a clear target in the seventh round, it might take a rostered player to get the deal done.

One of the eyebrow-raising moves by Bucs general manager in the draft could be a steal… or could blow up in his face.

If all goes right, this draft of Syracuse receiver Mike Williams may be one of the best moves of the draft. He dropped to the fourth round for the ever popular “character issues,” among them quitting on his team last fall.

Dominik, however, has a plan. He has a mentor of sorts all lined up to help Williams, reports Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, an NFL version of Father Flanagan.

That mentor is Bucs receivers coach Eric Yarber.

Most analysts say Williams can excel in the NFL if he has proper guidance from leaders in the locker room. The Bucs’ plan is for receivers coach Eric Yarber to serve as Williams’ guide, something Yarber has done before.

“He’s coached T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Ocho Cinco, Terrell Owens,” Dominik said. “He’s coached them all, and if you call each one of those individuals, they’re going to explain to you how great a coach he is and how he can be a mentor. That’s his guy and he’s very excited about the selection as well.”

Whoa, Yarber coached T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens?

Joe doesn’t know if this Yarber deserves sainthood or a Purple Heart!

Hard to get excited about the Bucs drafting a punter, especially one with flowing blond hair.

At least they needed a punter.

The newest Buccaneer is Brent Bowden, out of Virginia Tech. taken with the third pick in the sixth round today. Internet searches reveal he comes from a family of punters. That’s better than a family of criminals or lawyers.

Kick your heart out, son.

Joe waved good-bye to defensive tackle Chris Hovan yesterday, when the Bucs selected Brian Price in the second round.

Even before the draft, Joe was quite certain that Hovan, and his big salary and 10 years and 156 games of NFL service, didn’t fit in the Bucs’ budget plans.

Now, midway through the fifth round of the draft, Mike Florio, of ProFootballtalk.com, is reporting the Bucs are shopping Hovan.

Maybe they can find a seventh-rounder for him.

Quickly becoming the go-to person for Bucs information on Twitter, Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times has been dropping all sorts of nuggets on the microblogging site about the Bucs and the draft the past few days (good thing he upgraded his Blackberry Twitter app).

Per Holder, the Bucs did more research into the background of fourth round pick Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams then they did on either first round draft pick Gerald McCoy or even second round pick Brian Price.

Mark Dominik says Bucs put more time on Mike Williams than any prospect. A lot of investigating. Called him a 1st round talent. Nice gamble.

Later on the St. Petersburg Times’ site, Holder wrote that the Dominik has a program in place to assist Williams in virtually every way off the field and on the field in order to help him deal with whatever issues he may have.

Joe wonder what that might be, maybe a mentor from another Bucs teammate?