TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUOTE SHEET 4-15-24

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN CALIJAH KANCEY

(On his biggest goals for improvement during the offseason)

"My biggest goal this offseason, honestly, is just to go back and look at everything where I could've been better – something like a play where I could've made the play and didn't make it. [I am] just really oiling up everything, as far as my moves, my get off, my play recognition – everything – running to the ball. I'm just kind of working off of what I've already [done] and being better at it."

(On what he learned about himself and the NFL as a rookie in 2023)

"I definitely learned a lot about myself. It was a little uncertain starting off, as far as being set back with the calf injury and starting the season off a little late. My main thing was getting back to myself and how I was in college. I wanted the NFL to be as easy as college. It came with patience. I had to learn a different scheme, going against veteran guys who've been in the league for a lot of years. I just had to get the repetition and when I got the repetitions, it just all started to pick up. That's where I want to be at – I want to work off of where I finished off at and be better."

(On if he felt like he 'caught up' after missing time at the beginning of the 2023 season with injury)

"I definitely feel like I caught up at the end. I was playing a little bit of catch-up, but it all worked out for me. It helped me learn my body and it helped me just not take this for granted because it can be [taken] away from you very fast. It just made me love the game even more."

(On playing next to NT Vita Vea)

"I learned a lot from Vita, just being in the room with him and being on the field with him. My first day, I actually took a rep with him and he told me everything to do before we even got out of the huddle. I'm like, 'Damn, it's that easy?' That just let you know what type of guy he is. He's on top of everything – he knows the formation, he knows what to expect, he knows the person you're going against because he's been in the league and he's [gone] against everybody. It was really a plus for me. Going into this year, it's [about] really following his steps and being a sponge towards him because he does everything the right way."

(On having a full year of experience under his belt)

"Like I said before, just being able to get a full year of experience in the NFL and seeing where I was in college and where I'm at now. I had to go through it myself. Leaving from college, I always knew I was that guy. Now, I'm in the NFL and there's a lot of those guys. It's just really finding a way every day to be better."

(On his relationship with OLB Yaya Diaby)

"We definitely started clicking [during] rookie mini-camp, honestly. As we started to get more reps together on the field, the bond just grew stronger and stronger. That just carried us throughout the season."

(On his sack celebration with Diaby)

"Yeah, the celebration, that just lets you know how strong the bond grew, because early on, it wasn't [like] that. We still [were] like brothers and everything – on and off the field – but as we get the reps together, we kind of learned each other and played off of each other and it all connects."

CORNERBACK ZYON MCCOLLUM

(On what has his mindset has been this offseason)

"Everything I use as motivation. No matter what it is, positive [or] negative, and this is really no different. Every single year I'm going into every single offseason working as hard as I can. Now, having been thrown in the fire as much as I was last year and kind of knowing what to expect and know what I have to do to play at a super, super great form, it's just exciting for me. Every day I carry a chip on my shoulder and what I [have] to go get."

(On what area he wants to get better at)

"Becoming a playmaker. I mean, for me, in college, I was always known for getting my hands on footballs and making plays, whether it be forced fumbles or interceptions, so that's the next point in my game – to start making those big plays."

(On if he plans on taking chances during the OTA's and training camp)

"That's a great way to put it. I mean, taking calculated chances is how you make plays in this league. You know, it's not going to be perfect, but I'm looking to fail and get better, and fail and get better, and OTA's and this type of environment is the best time to do that. So, taking chances is the name of the game, my game at least."

(On how different his offseason was last year compared to this year)

"I got married, that's the main big difference. In terms of the offseason since I got into the league, I mean, rookie year you're focused on like 40[-yard dash times], the combine, and stuff. These last two years, I have been able to focus completely and solely on football. The more snaps I get in a season, then the more fine-tuned my training can become, so when I go in the backyard with my brother, I'm telling him the exact routes I want him to run on me. We're practicing exact coverages we expect to run, and so everything is becoming more and more specific year in [and] year out."

(On if playing different positions last season gave him a holistic view of the defense)

"Oh, 100%. I mean, since playing safety and playing nickel, I know exactly where I want my safety and nickel to be because I can put myself in their shoes. So with that, when we go out and were practicing drills, we can communicate at such a high level because I can speak their language, they can speak my language, and vice versa. Just being able to know exactly where someone is going to be when, [Head Coach Todd] Bowles calls a call just allows me to say I don't have to cover that, I just have to worry about this and giving them the reassurance that they don't have to cover the routes that I'm responsible for – just worry about doing your job. I think it all goes hand in hand."

(On how much his ability to tackle improved last year)

"It improved when I just finally learned how to tackle, to be honest. In college I think I'm just running out full speed, leading with my head, and you know, I hope he goes down, basically. My rookie year, missing a lot of tackles, it was like, 'Ahh that doesn't really work here.' So, just learning to use my shoulders, to wrap up, to stay on my feet, [and] to know that I don't have to be 100 miles per hour to every play. I just have to play the game at my speed and let the game come to me. It just made everything open up not just the tackling, everything just starts [coming together]."

(On Head Coach Todd Bowles' message for the first day of the offseason program)

"Really, it's just consistency and showing up every day and doing something, [and] not being good, but being great. What he means by that is just if we're doing everything that we're going to need to do in training camp right now, by the time we get to training camp, we're going to be that much further ahead. It not just watching film just to watch film, it's watching film and still treating it like you're in season. It wasn't that long ago that we were in this building in the season fighting for a playoff spot, fighting to get to the Super Bowl, so we can't lose that fire, that intensity. We can stack these years instead of starting over every year."

RUNNING BACK RACHAAD WHITE

(On getting more comfortable over the course of the season in terms of diagnosing coverages)

"I think the biggest thing is just play ball, just go – not thinking so much and just relying on what you've done your whole life. Everybody wants to be perfect. Me, early in the season, I wanted to make the right read, try to make the perfect play and things like that. Certain things that Coach [Todd] Bowles was saying early in the season were obviously correct. I wanted to be a big-splash, big-play guy with my ability and things like that. I let all of that go and just trusted in what the coaches had in store for us. I started playing faster and started having fun. I had a conversation with my mom, and she was huge on that. I started having fun, just going out there and playing ball, playing for my team."

(On what he has been doing over the offseason to put himself in a position to improve during the upcoming season)

"Obviously, I've been training, but the biggest thing is just watching. Watching what I did the second half of the season – obviously, the second half of the season helped me and put me in position to be at 990 [rushing yards in 2023]. I was way more efficient running the ball, and that's on all of us, but I take a lot of pride in saying the majority of that was on me. That's the biggest thing right now – I've been learning and trying to figure it out. Right now, I'm not where I want to be in my career yards per carry-wise and things like that – just being an efficient running back. I think, for me, that's [what] the biggest next step is, 'OK, he's efficient.' The efficient running backs over the [course] of time – like I said, I study the game a lot – they average at least 4.0-4.1 [yards per carry] and above. Guys like Walter Payton. It's tough, it's hard. Everybody has had seasons where they average 3.0-something yards per carry due to whatever circumstances. The biggest thing for me is just studying the game, just understanding it and being efficient this year."

(On if he is looking forward to potentially getting more 1-on-1 opportunities versus linebackers in the passing game)

"I'm for sure looking forward to that. Obviously, I do want to be out in space a lot. I feel like I thrive well out in space. Liam [Coen] showed clips of that, too. Over time… [Liam] wasn't there, but like Todd Gurley and guys in the west coast offense, [Darrell] Henderson – we've seen guys catching touchdowns out wide in empty [sets] matched up against a linebacker. Of course that's huge, as well as just learning, so yeah, I'm excited for that. I'll be prepared for that and I'm pretty sure it will happen."

(On how his production in the passing game helped him mentally to overcome early-season struggles in the run game)

"It helped, for sure. It helped a lot for me to get going receiving-wise. I remember having a conversation with Coach [Todd] Bowles. We were just talking and he was just telling me the truth, 'We're putting our run game together. You guys are coming along, but right now – it was after a game I had success in the checkdowns – that checkdown is your run game. That's what is going to get you going and propel you forward in the actual run game. You've just got to carry that momentum on.' That's just what I did. Being able to be out in space, one-on-one matchups with defenders – I pride myself on it. Coach Skip [Peete] has been giving me a lot of [coaching] on if one single guy tackles me. We've been talking about that a lot already… It's fun, for sure, to be out in space and not have a bunch of guys all over you, climbing on you and trying to tackle you."

(On the potential for the Buccaneers moving forward)

"Getting our big-time players and our big-time leaders back, and our young guys following their lead and trying to get to where they're at is huge. We finished off really strong and that was great for us to see [with] how we were playing and how we came together. A lot of guys are in the building, like Mike [Evans] is in the building, Chris [Godwin] is in the building… a lot of guys are in the building because they know what we're capable of. You get back around ball and a lot of guys miss it. At the end of the day, you're saying you want a break, but you miss it. You need time away from your family and stuff like that… It's just huge. We know what we're capable of and we're just trying to take a step forward with this phase."

-BUCCANEERS-