Should the Buccaneers draft Marshall EDGE rusher Mike Green? / via Google Imaging
The NFL offseason is in full swing. The window to place players on the franchise tag opens next week and the week after that is the NFL Combine. Every franchise is in the process of making their plans and outlining what their rosters will look like next year.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are no exception to this. While I don’t foresee them using the franchise tag, they will be very present at the NFL Combine to see these draft prospects first hand. As they continue to develop their short list of potential players they will target in the draft, they can plan to attack other needs in free agency.
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We all think we have a good idea of what the Bucs will want to target in the draft. Pass rusher, cornerback, linebacker, safety and wide receiver have been discussed the most. However, not every player will be a fit for every franchise.
Not every player is right for every system. Not every person is right for every locker room. Finding the right player and the right person is a difficult process and it will take the teams all the way up until the NFL draft to really figure it out.
Except for perhaps the Buccaneers. I believe that it is not only possible, but even likely that they already have their top choice at pick 19 already figured out. And of course the team will continue to do their due diligence to get to know as many prospects as possible, but I don’t think anyone will top this player.
That player is Marshall edge rusher Mike Green. The Sun Belt Player of the Year took the nation by storm this year with an FBS leading 17.0 sacks in 2024. This performance jettisoned him up draft boards and is now expected to be a first round pick.
But Green is so much more than just production. His skillset looks like one of an NFL player. He has a wide variety of pass rush moves as well as the athletic ability to play at a high level on Sundays. He absolutely looks the part of an NFL pass rusher.
A Perfect Fit For The Buccaneers
Beyond that, Green is a perfect fit for the Todd Bowles defense. At 6’3 and 251 lbs (what he measured in at for the Senior Bowl) he is an ideal build for a 3-4 outside linebacker. This is the Bucs biggest need and he fits it perfectly.
Some have concerns that Green might be a little on the skinny side and they might be right. And while not the best run defender in the world, Green is scrappy at the point of attack and flows to the ball with a high level of effort. General Manager Jason Licht will love the mentality he plays the run with.
In fact, I believe Licht will love everything about Green’s mentality. There is a maturity to him when he talks and he carries himself as a professional who just happens to be playing at the college level. He reminds me very much of guys like Tristian Wirfs, Chris Godwin, Antione WInfield Jr. and many other of the Bucs leaders.
I’m not here to tell you that Green is the right pick for the Buccaneers. There are other players who I think would also be a great fit in Tampa, such as Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr and Alabama Linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Either of these guys or even others who I haven’t mentioned here could all be home run picks for the Bucs.
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All I’m saying is that if the Bucs front office could build an edge rusher in a lab (both as a player and as a person) that guys would look very much like Green. Sure, maybe Licht might add a few more inches in terms of arm length, but there is no such thing as a perfect prospect.
All I know is that based on everything we know about Licht, Bowles and the Bucs, this is basically a perfect fit. If Green is on the board when the Buccaneers are on the clock then I would be shocked at this point if they didn’t pick him. Things could change based on athletic testing, but at this point Green won’t get past pick 19.
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The NCAA Division II announced that the Sunshine State Conference once again leads the nation in Academic Success Rate. SSC member institutions and student-athletes earned a record-breaking 90 percent ASR, besting the conference’s and NCAA’s all-time high of 89 percent achieved in 2023.
The SSC repeats as the top NCAA Division II conference in Academic Success rate. Through the 19-year history of the ASR, the SSC has never ranked below second.
SSC student-athletes outpaced all national averages when compared sport-by-sport. Additionally, the SSC scored above the NCAA Division II average of 77 percent in 18 of 18 sports. Twelve sports achieved an ASR above 90 percent, with women’s lacrosse leading the way at 99 percent. Men’s tennis, women’s swimming, women’s golf, and women’s volleyball followed closely behind at 96 percent.
Female student-athletes in the SSC improved their Academic Success Rate by one percentage point to 95 percent, besting the Division II national average that remained at 88 percent. SSC male student-athletes also improved by one percentage point, up to 85 percent, sitting well above the Division II national average, which held at 69 percent.
NCAA Division II developed ASR in 2006 at the request of institution presidents. Since its inception, 291 SSC student-athletes earned CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors a total of 349 times. Athletically, member institutions have combined for 67 team national championships and 110 individual national titles.
About the Academic Success Rate
Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial college enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships.
The Division II ASR also captures about 40 percent more college athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the Federal Graduation Rate, the ASR also counts student-athletes who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere and removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 77 percent for student-athletes who entered college from 2014 through 2017.
Regardless of which measure is used, Division II college athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2017 entering class of student-athletes was 59 percent, compared to 53 percent for the general student body.
2024 Academic Success Rate Ranking By NCAA Division II Conference
The Rays are used to uncertainty as they prepare for a regular season with home games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field, the spring training base of the New York Yankees. It will mark the Tampa Bay Rays first ever season in Tampa.
“For us, this is what we’ve known,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said Tuesday at the team’s spring training complex.
Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field on Oct. 9, leaving the stadium unusable for at least 2025. In addition, the Rays have until March 31 to commit with the city of St. Petersburg on a planned $1.3 billion stadium that likely would open in 2029 at the earliest.
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“We’ve had different types of uncertainty and questions hanging over our franchise for the entirety of the Rays era,” Neander said. “And we found a way to win the third most games in baseball and appear in a couple World Series. This is what we do. I think we do it pretty well.”
Pitchers and catchers report Wednesday, and manager Kevin Cash said his team will be ready for the March 28 opener against Colorado. Steinbrenner, which has about 11,000 seats, is exposed to weather, unlike the Trop.
“There is an added element to it,” Cash said. “I’d like to think we’re going to have some time to build into that. Generally speaking, we’re going to have some pretty beautiful weather for the first month or two. We’ll have a little better understanding of who we are as a pitching group and as a team going into some of those hot summer months.
“Our players, I give them a lot of credit. They’re very aware. They’ve done a lot of work this offseason having that in the back of their mind. We’ve probably thrown more outdoor bullpens this year coming into camp than maybe we have in the past. We’ll do everything we can to adjust on the fly as needed.”
Tampa Bay was 28th among the 30 teams in home attendance last year at 1.3 million, ahead of only Oakland and Miami.
“From what I’ve heard with ticket sales, I know it’s a smaller venue, but it will be fun to see some packed houses,” Cash said. “Our players are going to appreciate that. Very thankful for the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, Hal (Steinbrenner). Top to bottom, that organization has been front line with the way they’ve communicated with every bit of our staff.”
Cash was sadden by the condition of Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton ravaged the area.
“First time I saw it, I was driving on (Interstate) 75. It was surreal,” Cash said. “When I saw it happen in the middle of the night, I didn’t think it was real. Your mind races a little bit, ‘What now? What now?’”
Tampa Bay went 80-82 last season, ending a streak of five straight postseason appearances.
“Our focus can stay very much right in front of us,” Neander said. “For our group, it’s an opportunity to galvanize ourselves around the circumstances and what’s in front of us. Our players are ready to go and they’re excited about it.”
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates in front of Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) after scoring past goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
MONTREAL (AP) — Canada and Sweden traded chances back and forth, skating up and down the ice for 3-on-3 overtime that provided dazzling entertainment in the opener of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
By the time Mitch Marner scored the winner for Canada, more than six minutes had elapsed. Had it been during the NHL regular season, the horn would have sounded at the 5-minute mark and the game decided in a shootout.
Extending OT to 10 minutes is one of the experiments taking place at the tournament that could go into use as soon as next season. There’s still plenty of debate over whether it should, and Marner’s goal made it a hot topic in Montreal.
“I don’t know. It’s a good question,” Finland captain Aleksander Barkov said Thursday. “Obviously there’s a lot of games — 82 regular-season games — and on top of it, if you keep adding longer and longer overtimes, I don’t know how guys would take that. I’m fine with how it is right now.
Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon, who played more than a third of OT, said the discussion even came up in Canada’s locker room on Wednesday night. His answer about 10-minute overtimes becoming a reality in the NHL was clearer than he could see by the end of that game.
“No. No. No,” MacKinnon said. “I was happy when Marner scored because I didn’t have much left to give, so 5 to 7 would be good.”
Changing the rules would require an agreement between the league and Players’ Association, though it’s good timing for that with collective bargaining talks ongoing and official negotiations on the horizon. Adding more of a workload without extra pay is a strike against extending OT, and it would tax the top players more than others.
“I like it as far as I think it’s more fun, overtime,” U.S. goaltender Jake Oettinger said. “You have to ask the top players that would be playing extra minutes, I think, for them, but I vote yes on it. I think it’s great.”
It would also increase the likelihood of games ending before a shootout, which Canada’s Mark Stone called “a glorified skills competition.” Self-professed shootout-hating U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski would prefer that but is concerned at the potential consequences.
“In overtime, usually your top guys are going and if it’s a back to back or whatnot, obviously it takes a lot out of you,” Werenski said. “It was something to mess around with, I think, especially maybe preseason or something just to see how guys feel. I wouldn’t be opposed to going to 10 minutes. I just don’t like shootouts that much.”
The NHL is also using the tournament to try adding 30 seconds to each of the three television timeouts every period and subtracting a minute from each of the two intermissions. Canada coach Jon Cooper isn’t sure about how much of an impact that might have, if any.
“TV timeouts are long as it is,” Cooper said. “Can you recharge some of your top-end players? Of course you can. But then what does it do to the guys that haven’t been out there, haven’t been out before the TV timeout? And now you’ve got to wait through that. It’s kind of the double-edged sword in that part.”
The 4 Nations is also using the international system of awarding three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and none for a regulation loss.
“I feel like it makes a bigger difference in the end,” Sweden’s Lucas Raymond said. “I’m used to it back in Sweden when I was playing, it was always a three-point system. It’s a little bit different, but it for sure brings a bigger impact.”
Changing the point system is the least likely thing for the NHL. When asked about it, Commissioner Gary Bettman has said there is not much of an appetite to abandon the current format of two points for a win of any kind and one for an overtime or shootout loss.
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