On Friday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hold a workout for 45 NFL Draft prospects with local ties, including one who is a Bay area native because his father used to play for the Buccaneers.
University of Albany quarterback Vincent Testaverde, son of former Bucs quarterback Vinny Testaverde, is one of two quarterbacks among the players who will visit the AdventHealth Training Center on Friday. The younger Testaverde played his prep ball at Jesuit High School, which is a short walk from both the Bucs' practice facility and Raymond James Stadium. He grew up in Odessa because his family put down roots in the Tampa area following his father's six-year stint with the Buccaneers. The elder Testaverde, who was drafted first overall by the Buccaneers in 1987, went on to a 21-year NFL career in which he threw for 46,233 yards, 14th-most in league history.
The other quarterback on hand Friday was Lehigh's Brad Mayes, a former Berkeley Prep standout. Other local high schools represented among the 45 prospects included Jefferson, Hillsborough, Plant and Tampa Catholic, all located within a few miles of where the Buccaneers train and play. As usual, there was also a good number of participants who played their college ball at South Florida and Central Florida, a total of 15 from the two schools combined.
The annual "local" workout takes advantage of a provision in the CBA that allows teams to bring in draft prospects who played either high school or college football in their metropolitan area. The provision also includes a handful of players from state schools from a bit farther away, including Florida and Florida State. These workouts are in addition to the 30 prospect visits the team can arrange with players from any school or hometown. There is no specific limit to the number of players who can attend the local workout; it's a function of the number of available and willing prospects with the requisite college or high school ties. This year's crowd was significantly bigger than the one a year ago, which included 30 invited players.
These were the participants in Friday's workout:
Position, Player, College (Local High School, if applicable)
· LB Azeez Al-Shaair, Florida Atlanta (Hillsborough)
· RB Bruce Anderson, North Dakota State (Newsome)
· OL Marcus Applefield, Virginia (Weeki Wachee)
· DB Derrick Baity, Kentucky (Plant)
· WR Shawn Bane, Northwest Missouri State (Sarasota)
· DB Damarius Brinson, West Florida (Boca Ciega)
· DL Kevin Bronson, USF
· DB Gabe Brown, Mount Union (Durant)
· WR Ventell Bryant, Temple (Jefferson)
· DB Rashard Causey, UCF
· DL Kyle Cerge-Henderson, Georgia Tech (Plant)
· WR Ryan Davis, Auburn (Lakewood)
· LB Titus Davis, UCF
· DB Kyle Gibson, UCF (Armwood)
· WR Antoine Griffin, West Florida
· LB Frankie Hernandez, Marshall (Largo)
· DB Ronnie Hoggins, USF
· OL Martez Ivey, Florida
· DL Vincent Jackson, USF (Jesuit)
· LB Pat Jasinski, UCF
· DL Cece Jefferson, Florida
· OL Fred Johnson, Florida
· OL Tyler Jordan, Florida
· K Daniel Lacamera, Texas A&M (East Lake)
· TE C'yontai Lewis, Florida
· P Mac Loudermilk, UCF
· QB Brad Mayes, Lehigh (Berkeley Prep)
· OL Eric Mayes, USF (Booker)
· WR Tyre McCants, USF
· OL Chris McCrea, Alcorn State (St. Petersburg)
· RB Taj McGowan, UCF
· WR Kelvin McKnight, Samford (Manatee)
· OL Wyatt Miller, UCF
· RB Jordan Scarlett, Florida
· WR Jeff Smith, Boston College (Clearwater Central Catholic)
· DB Saivion Smith, Alabama (Lakewood)
· WR Dredrick Snelson, UCF
· OL Tyree St. Louis, Miami (Tampa Bay Tech/IMG)
· QB Vincent Testaverde, Albany (Jesuit)
· DB Aaron Wade, Utah State (Newsome/IMG)
· LB Tre Watson, Maryland (Tampa Catholic)
· DB Mazzi Wilkins, USF (Plant)
· P Stone Wilson, Florida International (IMG)
· K Matt Wright, UCF
· WR Broderick Yancy, Temple (Manatee)
The workout participants include three-fifths of the Florida Gators' starting offensive line in 2018: left tackle Martez Ivey, left guard Tyler Jordan and right guard Fred Johnson. That line also included Jawaan Taylor, who could be a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft. Of the other three, Ivey and Johnson were both invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
The nine-man contingent from UCF includes two players who contributed significantly to an offense that ranked sixth in Division I with 43.2 points per game: running back Taj McGowan (71 carries for 470 yards and eight touchdowns) and wide receiver Dredrick Snelson (43 receptions for 688 yards and five touchdowns). Linebacker Titus Davis, who led the Knights with 6.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, will also be in attendance.
USF defensive lineman Vincent Jackson also played at nearby Jesuit High School. Though no relation to the former Buccaneers receiver of the same name he does count former NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Olympic Gold Medalist Justin Gatlin among his cousins. The Bulls' workout participants also include wide receiver Tyre McCants, the team's leading pass-catcher in 2018 with a 59-622-3 line.
Friday's workout at the AdventHealth Training Center takes place just 13 days before the start of the 2019 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 25. Last year, four of the 30 invited players were eventually selected in the draft, including UCF's Shaquem Griffin and USF's Deadrin Senat. One of the players, Samford linebacker Shaheed Salmon, who hailed from Land O' Lakes, signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.
