DT Anthony Bryant (97) impressed Buccaneer coaches at the 2005 Senior Bowl
G Dan Buenning
On his reaction of being drafted by the Bucs: "I got a great call from them this morning, and they sound excited for me to go down there. I'm even more excited to go down there myself."
On if he thought before the draft that the Bucs were interested in him: "Not much really. I had brief conversations with their coaches. I didn't think it was anything too serious."
On what the Bucs have told him so far about their plans for him: "I can move around. I can play any of the three inside positions. It sounded like they want to keep me at guard and compete for that spot."
On if he was surprised by being selected before Elton Brown: "Yes. It was surprising. Everybody was talking about him being one of the top guards."
On what skills he needs to improve on in the NFL: "It's going to come through with pass blocking. At Wisconsin, we were a run-oriented team. I just have to work on pass sets and take a lot of reps at that."
On blocking for RB Carnell Williams in the future: "I played against him a couple years back. We played against him in a bowl game. Hearing so much about him and how good a runner he is, and to witness it firsthand, it will be pretty exciting."
On if he was a Packer fan growing up: "Growing up, yes, I was a Packers fan. There are not too many Packers fans left in this house today."
On who is with him now: "I have my parents, my brother and my girlfriend. Some friends of the family, some people I went to high school with and my roommates from college."
On being excited about the Bucs playing at Green Bay this year: "Absolutely. Get a bunch of people up to the game. Hopefully I'll be playing."
S Donte Nicholson
On being drafted by the Buccaneers: "I'm overwhelmed, first of all. I went a little later than I expected, but I'm happy to be drafted. I just need to get out there and show what I can do."
On what he brings to the Buccaneers: "I am going to fit in pretty well, [the Buccaneers' defense] is what we ran at Oklahoma, our base defense. I know that I'll always be around the ball and I'm a good tackler, too."
On playing on special teams: "I love special teams. I've been playing special teams all of my life. I did that at Oklahoma for a while. My fire, my drive, to go out there and compete, I just love [special teams].
On if the past day-and-a-half has been long for him: "It's been a very long two days. I've just been sitting around with my family, waiting to get this phone call. It finally came and now I'm happy."
On where he sees himself playing: "A lot of teams see me playing strong safety, but I think that a lot of people overlook my ability to play free [safety]. I think I'm a versatile player, but a lot of teams see me playing strong safety. I think I can play both."
WR Larry Brackins
On his draft thoughts: "I was coming out of JUCO [junior college]. I didn't think I was going to go high. To me it didn't really matter what round I went in, just as long as I went. I could've gone in the seventh round and I still would have been happy just to have the chance to play. Coming out of JUCO, I knew it was kind of hard. The reason why I came out was financially, I saw an opportunity to take care of my family. I always wanted to play for a team such as Tampa Bay. It's close, it's not that far from my house. And I think I fit right in with them, and contribute right away. I hope so."
On if he thought the Bucs were targeting him: "I did. I really did. They told me, [Coach] Gruden, also, he would like for me to play on this team. He said they were going to try to pick me. All week that's what I was thinking about, Tampa Bay. It's like a dream come true and it happened just like I thought it would happen."
On what skills he brings to the NFL: "As a player, I'm a hard worker. I'm not real selfish. I'm a team player. I'm a pretty big receiver. Coming into the NFL, I think I match up well with some of the other guys. I think I bring a big-play threat to the team. I can go up and get the ball real good. I think everything will work out down here in Tampa Bay."
On if he ever thought about choosing basketball: "At first, coming out of high school, I was thinking about just playing basketball. But, I just had to go back to my first love, which was football."
On some of the questions about him entering the draft: "People were saying I was a raw talent. I had to work on my route running. Some people were saying I didn't have a mean streak [and that] I didn't play with a mean streak. That I was slow. I knew I was pretty good [and] that I could match up with the other guys coming out this year. So, I really wasn't worried about it."
On some of the Division-I football programs looking at him after his first year at Pearl-River: "I had all the top schools; USC, Florida St., Miami, Auburn, Alabama and LSU. All the top schools [were] looking at me. Financially, I just saw an opportunity to take care of my mom and my family, so that's why I came out."
DT Anthony Bryant
On being drafted by the Buccaneers: "It was fun [playing for the Buccaneers' coaches at the Senior Bowl]. I'm really excited to play for them. I had a feeling after the Senior Bowl that I might end up going to Tampa Bay."
On what he needs to do to be successful in the NFL: "I need to be more consistent. I need to play hard on every snap, and just enjoy the game and have fun."
On chasing RB Carnell Williams during training camp: "It'll be fun. It will bring up some old memories from the Iron Bowl. It should be fun."
On Williams: "It was a great pick for [the Buccaneers]. They were in need of a running back, and I think it was a good pick because he's a great player. I think he'll fit into the offensive scheme."
On being labeled an underachiever: "That will be motivation for me to work harder, and to prove to everybody that I can make it on the next level and prove to myself that I'm a great player."
