TE C.J. Leak (white jersey) first signed with the Bucs in May after a fine tryout camp performance
Greg White has been working on his resume since the last time he was a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. He has also picked up a very nice addition to his reference sheet.
White, a speed-rushing defensive end who first put on the Buccaneer colors back in 2002, signed with Tampa Bay on Saturday and was on the practice field for the team's morning practice. The same was true for tight end C.J. Leak, who re-signed with the Bucs on Saturday after spending a month with the team during the offseason.
To make room for the additions of White and Leak to the camp roster, the Bucs released rookie defensive tackle Justin Frick and first-year linebacker Evan Benjamin.
White's resume boasts some very recent additions thanks to his two seasons in the Arena Football League. Playing for the Orlando Predators, White earned AFL Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 and followed that with the league's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2007. In an AFL season that just concluded with last Sunday's Arena Bowl XXI, White set a new league record with 15 sacks to go with six forced fumbles, 33 tackles and two blocked kicks.
And White's best new reference? None other than Buccaneers Assistant Offensive Coach Jay Gruden, who is also the Predators' head coach. White obviously came highly recommended after he helped lead Orlando into the first round of the AFL playoffs.
White first entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2002. He didn't make the Texans' 53-man roster but was quickly snapped up by the Buccaneers for their practice squad. White had two different stints on that unit but was not on the team during its postseason run to the Super Bowl XXXVII title. In subsequent seasons, White saw time on the practice squads in Washington, New Orleans, Tennessee and Atlanta.
Leak participated in the Bucs' post-draft camp for rookies and first-year players on a tryout basis, then was signed to the roster on May 22. He was then released on June 22 to make roster space when the Bucs signed fourth-round draft pick Tanard Jackson.
Leak is the son of former NFL receiver Curtis Leak, who was briefly on the Bucs' roster during the 1976 expansion season though he did not appear in a game. C.J.'s younger brother, Chris Leak, signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted rookie free agent this spring after leading the Florida Gators to the national championship last season.
Leak began his college run as a highly-recruited quarterback at Wake Forest in 1999. He saw action in seven games as a true freshman, throwing a touchdown pass against eventual-champion Florida State, and was named the Demon Deacons' starting quarterback in 2000.
Three games into his sophomore campaign, however, Leak suffered a season-ending knee injury after completing 30 of 70 passes for 341 yards and two interceptions. He then chose to transfer to Tennessee, forcing him to sit out the 2001 campaign, though he needed a good portion of that time to recover from his rather severe injury, anyway. Eventually, Leak was able to petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility to replace his abbreviated 2000 campaign.
Over the next two seasons, Leak backed up Vols starter Casey Clausen, appearing in eight games with one start. His passing stats during those two seasons included 11 completions in 22 attempts for 122 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Leak competed for but did not win the Volunteers' starting quarterback job in 2004. He then tried his hand at several other positions, seeing time at safety, linebacker and tight end. It is at that latter position that the Bills signed the 6-4, 220-pound prospect a year ago. The Bucs will look at Leak in the same capacity.
Leak spent about half of the 2006 season on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad after serving as a graduate assistant at Florida in 2005.
Frick was signed by Tampa Bay as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 3. He was later released on July 21 but then re-signed on July 28, one day after the beginning of training camp. As a senior at North Dakota State, Frick racked up 39 tackles, five sacks, six tackles for loss and four passes defensed.
Benjamin signed with the Buccaneers on January 17 after first taking a crack at the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. At Washington, he racked up 231 tackles, 6.5 sacks and three interceptions over his four seasons.
