Happy Friday, everyone!
Admittedly, that seems less significant as we all keep our social distance, but we can still pretend. On this particularly Friday, 10:00 a.m. ET is Trivia Hour and 4:00 p.m. ET is Happy Hour, in that you'll be happy to get the answer to the question below.
This wraps up another week in April, during which I'm posting a Daily Bucs Trivia question near the beginning of every workday, then revealing the answer here and on Twitter in the afternoon. There's no prize, just the pride you'll get from knowing your team and its history well. And this isn't multiple choice; you'll have to figure out the answer for yourself.
Today's question involves the origins of every Buccaneer who has scored a touchdown in the regular season. That is, their colleges of origin, except for the four Bucs who never played college football (that's a question for another day). Let's just get right to the quiz.
Bucs Daily Trivia Question, April 10:
What college has produced the largest number of players who have scored at least one touchdown as a Buccaneer?
Now, before you think this is a slam dunk, the answer is NOT the same as what college has produced the most Buccaneers players. It's also not the school whose combined Buccaneer lineage has scored the most overall touchdowns. And while Mike Alstott is far and away the team's all-time touchdown leader, his alma mater, Purdue, is not the answer either. Alstott scored 71 touchdowns as a Buccaneer but only got help from Scott Dierking, another Purdue product who scored once in 1984.
Some of the most prominent Buccaneer player-producers in the country aren't anywhere close to the answer of this question. Take Oklahoma, which has produced 16 Bucs, including some of the best players in team history. Nicholls State has produced more Buccaneer touchdowns than Oklahoma…by a 25-TD margin. Boise State has the Sooners by 26 scores. North Carolina A&T players have as many Buccaneer touchdowns as do the various OU men.
What you're looking for is a school that has had a lot of different players find the end zone in Buccaneer uniforms. Come back at 4:00 p.m. ET for the answer!
Answer: The college that has produced the highest number of players who have scored at least one regular-season touchdown for the Buccaneers is Florida State. It helps to have three quarterbacks and three linebackers on the list.
Twelve different Buccaneers from Florida State have found the end zone, led by running back Warrick Dunn and his 28 scores. Believe it or not, the next highest-score on the Seminole list is a defensive player – Hall-of-Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks. The other two linebackers from FSU who scored for the Bucs were Geno Hayes and Dekoda Watson. The three quarterbacks on the list are Jameis Winston, Brad Johnson and Casey Weldon. Remember, this question was about touchdowns scored, so TD passes don't count. It's the pass-catcher who gets the touchdown scored. But Winston, Johnson and Weldon all had rushing touchdowns.
FSU only beat USC by one, as 11 different Trojans have scored Tampa Bay TDs. The top scorers in that group are Ricky Bell and Keyshawn Johnson, with 19 and 17 respectively. Florida and Miami tie for third with eight touchdown-scoring Bucs each, and Pittsburgh is a sneaky entry at number four, led by Dave Moore (24), whose name seems to be coming up a little in Trivia Time.
As noted, I was not looking for the most combined touchdowns for a group of alma mater. If I was, Florida would take it with 80, just a bit ahead of Texas A&M with 77. Almost completely due to Mike Alstott, Purdue is third with 72.
