The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted nine players during last week's three-day draft, but their 2010 rookie class will be quite a bit larger than that.
Burning up the phone lines as soon as the seventh round was complete on Saturday, the Buccaneers reeled in 12 more coveted prospects who were passed over in the draft. The list includes former Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead, three Tennessee Volunteers and an Ivy League tackle. In addition, second-year quarterback Josh Freeman will be reunited with one of his former targets at Kansas State, tight end Jeron Mastrud.
Here is the complete list of undrafted signees announced by the Bucs on Monday:
Pos. |
Player |
Ht. |
Wt. |
College |
DE |
Brandon Gilbeaux |
6-3 |
270 |
Delaware |
T |
Derek Hardman |
6-6 |
300 |
Eastern Kentucky |
K |
Hunter Lawrence |
6-0 |
187 |
Texas |
TE |
Jeron Mastrud |
6-5 |
256 |
Kansas State |
LB |
Rico McCoy |
6-1 |
220 |
Tennessee |
WR |
Preston Parker |
5-11 |
199 |
North Alabama |
G |
Sergio Render |
6-3 |
311 |
Virginia Tech |
G |
Vladimir Richard |
6-4 |
300 |
Tennessee |
S |
Dennis Rogan |
5-9 |
185 |
Tennessee |
DE |
James Ruffin |
6-4 |
263 |
Northern Iowa |
QB |
Jevan Snead |
6-3 |
219 |
Mississippi |
T |
James Williams |
6-5 |
295 |
Harvard |
Gilbeaux (6-3, 270) transferred from Syracuse in 2008 and immediately stepped into the Blue Hens' defensive rotation, appearing in 10 games with three starts. After contributing 26 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a blocked kick in his first year at Delaware, he emerged as an all-conference performer in 2009. Gilbeaux tied for the team lead last season with 5.5 sacks and also added 58 tackles, eight tackles for a loss and another blocked kick.
A fifth-year senior in 2009, Hardman started the last four years at Eastern Kentucky, switching from right tackle to left tackle to begin the 2008 season. He was a first-team all-conference selection this past season as well as in 2008 and was also on the Ohio Valley Conference all-newcomer team in 2006 as a redshirt freshman. He was also named to the Sports Network All-America second team following his senior campaign. A solid 6-6 and 300 pounds, Hardman has quick feet for his season and his agility allowed him to excel on both ends of the line.
No kickers were selected at any point in the 2010 NFL Draft, but the Buccaneers added one to their roster in the Longhorn's Lawrence, the most accurate kicker in school history. After handling kickoff duties exclusively for most of his first two seasons with the Longhorns, Lawrence took over the placekicking duties in 2008 and 2009 and nailed a combined 32 of 37 attempts (86.5%). He also hit on 120 of 121 extra points during his career, at one point hitting 76 in a row, the second-longest streak in UT history. A third-team AP All-America choice last year, Lawrence scored 126 points (most by a kicker in school annals) by making 22 of 25 field goals and 60 of 61 extra points.
At 6-5 and 256 pounds, Mastrud is a big tight end who catches the ball well and knows how to find openings in coverage. He was Freeman's second favorite target during Freeman's last year at K-State in 2008, catching 38 passes for 435 yards and two touchdowns. Over four seasons with the Wildcats, Mastrud snared 106 passes for 1,217 yards and three scores. He stepped immediately into the starting lineup as a freshman, opening nine of 12 games that season and catching 17 passes.
The second McCoy added to the Buccaneers' defense in the last five days, the Tennessee linebacker is no relation to first-round pick Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma but is another good fit for Tampa Bay's defensive scheme. The 6-1, 220-pound Volunteer is fast and rangy, McCoy piled up 350 tackles in 51 career games at Tennessee, including a team-best 119 stops last year. He also recorded 2.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and seven forced fumbles, including five last fall. McCoy was twice named an all-conference second-team selection.
Richard (6-4, 300) started for much of the last two seasons at Tennessee, opening six games at left guard in 2008 before moving into the starting right guard spot as a senior last fall. He helped the Volunteer offense rack up 383.5 yards per game in total offense, including 157.2 on the ground while also allowing only 18 sacks all season. Richard earned placement on the Honor Roll while at Tennessee and was a participant in the 2007 NCAA National Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The 5-9, 185-pound Rogan is a sure-tackling and instinctive defensive back who has also excelled in the return game. In three seasons with the Volunteers, he recorded 149 tackles, one sack and 6.5 tackles for loss while also returning 44 kickoffs for 1,133 yards (25.8 avg.) and 36 punts for 273 yards (7.6 avg.). Playing in Monte Kiffin's defensive system last year, Rogan had a career-best 69 tackles while also recording a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss, intercepting one pass, forcing one fumble, recovering three and breaking up six passes.
Parker (5-11, 199) played his final season at Northern Alabama last fall after spending his first three years at Florida State. He appeared in 12 games for the Lions in 2009 and contributed 52 catches for 789 yards and six touchdowns and averaging 15.2 yards per catch. In his three seasons with the Seminoles, Parker caught 104 passes for 1,189 yards and five touchdowns, leading the team in receptions in both 2007 and 2008. Parker also ran 65 times for 408 yards and two more scores during that span.
The 6-3, 311-pound Render uses his height and bulk well to stonewall defenders on the inside and can stand his ground against bull-rushers. He was a second-team All-ACC choice in each of his last two seasons at Virginia Tech, as a right guard in 2008 and a left guard in 2009. Render stepped into the Hokies' starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2006 and stayed with the front-line five throughout his collegiate career. He played right guard for three seasons before moving to the other side of the center last fall.
Ruffin (6-4, 263) finished a distinguished four-year career at Northern Iowa with 195 tackles, 25.0 sacks, 43 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. He started 46 of a possible 50 games during his tenure with the Panthers and finished with the seventh-most sacks of all active players in the NCAA FCS. Ruffin was also just the sixth player in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win the league's Defensive Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.
The 6-3, 219-pound Snead started the last two years at Ole Miss, appearing in 26 games and completing 375 of 668 passes (55.3%) for 5,394 yards, 46 touchdowns and 33 interceptions. He finished his collegiate career with a passer efficiency rating of 134.8. An early graduate who declared for the draft after his junior season, Snead was considered a top prospect entering the 2009 campaign after his standout sophomore performance. After transferring from Texas and sitting out the mandated season, Snead took over the Rebels' starting role and threw for 2,762 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Williams is an agile 6-3 and 295-pound lineman who, like Hardman, was named to the Sports Network All-America second-team after the 2009 season. He started every game during the last three seasons at Harvard, manning the left tackle spot for the Crimson. He was also an All-Ivy League first-team choice in each of those three seasons.