The Bucs took to the field on Monday after a day off at training camp, and they had a pair of new rookies in the mix: WR Chris Denton of Mount Union and LB Marvin Booker of Rutgers//
As a wide receiver and kick returner at Mount Union, Chris Denton helped the Purple Raiders get to the Division III championship game in 2011 only to settle for second place. In 2012, Denton and Mount Union made it back to the title game, and this time went home with the trophy.
Denton will get a second chance at the National Football League, too, after the Buccaneers re-signed the speedy receiver on Monday. The team also announced the signing of rookie linebacker Marvin Booker of Rutgers. To make room on the 90-man roster for the new arrivals, Tampa Bay released safety Troy Nolan and waived wide receiver Bobby Sewall.
Denton originally signed with the Buccaneers on May 6 after spending the previous weekend participating in the team's rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. However, he was then waived on May 22 when the Bucs signed wide receiver Terriun Crump. But Denton made it into Tampa Bay's training camp after all; he was on the field Monday morning when the team returned to practice after its second off day of camp, as was Booker.
Denton (5-11, 195) was a Division III first-team All-American selection last year as a return man after scoring an NCAA-record five touchdowns on punt returns. He also ranked second on the team with 73 catches for 960 yards and six touchdowns, pushing his two-year totals at Mount Union to 121 receptions for 1,537 yards and 16 TDs. Denton played the previous two seasons at Norwich University in Vermont. Denton would have company as a former Mount Union wideout if he made it onto a regular-season NFL roster; the Purple Raiders already had three pass-catching alumni playing in the league in 2012 in Pierre Garcon, Cecil Shorts III and Kyle Miller.
Booker (6-2, 244) also participated in that rookie mini-camp with a tryout contract. At Rutgers, he originally played linebacker before he was converted to defensive end by current Buccaneers Head Coach Greg Schiano.
Sewall signed with the Buccaneers on July 27, three days into training camp. He had spent the previous two years playing in the Arena Football League. Nolan, a fifth-year safety who played three seasons for the Houston Texans, was signed by the Buccaneers on July 29.
