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WATCH: MONDAY'S PRESS CONFERENCES1. He doubled his offseason training program.
McCoy has been busy since leaving One Buc last winter. He said that he doubled his usual training routine and has been working out up to 10 times per week. "I haven't been to the playoffs, guys," McCoy said. "I'm kind of sick of it. All I can do is focus on what I can do better. If I can be better I believe our team can be better so I just doubled my workout regimen. My last two weeks of my training I've pulled 10-workout weeks so by Thursday I had done 10 workouts. It hurt but it is what it is. These guys look up to me to lead us and that's what I'm going to do."
2. He doesn't follow the draft closely.
All three of the players that spoke to the media on Monday, including McCoy, said that weren't paying attention to the upcoming NFL Draft. "We're not thinking about that," McCoy said. "We're here now. You can't really think about who's not here. We can only focus on who's here, what we have to do and when whoever we bring in when the draft is over, we're going to welcome them like family and we're going to move forward. Today I haven't heard anybody bring up the draft. Usually guys don't talk about it." McCoy added that he didn't watch college football.
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The best photos of defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
- His level of excitement increases every year.**
McCoy has one full year alongside head coach Lovie Smith under his belt. He said that he is more excited for this year than last, not just because of the extra season in Coach Smith's system, but because he has another year to play the game he loves. "My (excitement) goes up every year because that's another opportunity I have to play this game I've been blessed to play," McCoy said. "You see careers end all the time. I'm going into my sixth year, that's a blessing. So any time I have an opportunity to come back and perform and get an opportunity to perform I get excited. The older I get the more excited I get because if I'm getting older and I'm still playing that's a blessing."
4. The coaches and front office have asked his opinion on who the team should pick atop the draft.
"I've talked to them," McCoy said regarding the top pick. "That's it. That's all you get."
5. He's excited to mentor whoever the Bucs pick at No. 1.
A former top-five pick himself, McCoy said he understands the difficulties that come with being a high draft pick and that he's excited about the opportunity to mentor whoever the Bucs selected at No. 1. "It will be a great opportunity for me because I didn't have that when I came in," he said. "To have a guy come in and get picked as high as our pick is this year, whoever it may be, I'm honestly going to take it upon myself to try and mentor that guy. I know the pressures of being picked high."
