3 Observations From Day 1 of Buccaneers Rookie Minicamp

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held their first day of rookie minicamp on Friday, officially playing football for the first time since the season ended in January. Tampa Bay's rookies, undrafted free agents and tryout players got to get their first reps during the offseason, build some chemistry with their new teammates and try their best to make an impression.

Day 1 is typically a day to adjust to the learning curve and study playbooks and fundamentals, but there were still a few things to note and a few players who impressed. BucsGameday was live on-site as always — here are three things we saw from Day 1 of rookie minicamp:

Rueben Bain Jr. impresses

It's hard to evaluate players on the offensive and defensive line without pads, but there are some things, like explosiveness and pass-rushing moves that show out in person. Bain, Tampa Bay's first-round pick, showcased it all.

Bain looked impressive doing individual drills, and it translated well to team drills. There were multiple snaps where Bain beat his man easily, and he racked up a few would-be "sacks" during 11v11 work at the end of the day.

Head coach Todd Bowles was pretty impressed after practice, noting that the seamless transition Bain had from Miami to Tampa Bay has helped him quite a bit.

"He looked like he was in midseason form," Bowles said after Day 1. "Obviously, he's from Miami, so he's going to be practicing in the heat where a lot of the other guys are going to struggle to adjust to this weather, so it didn't bother him at all. He came here in great shape, he ran around well and kinda picked up some things very well."

We won't get to see how good Bain looks for real until late in training camp, but returns are promising.

Ted Hurst shows his worth

Another player that the Bucs are excited about is Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst, who the Bucs drafted at No. 84 overall. Hurst's athleticism and size make his ceiling sky high, and he showed it off on Day 1 of camp.

Hurst was particularly effective in 11v11 work. He caught a few passes, including the last one of the day where QB Jalon Daniels floated him a ball toward the front right pylon that could have been a score in a real game. Hurst beat his man plenty, and it should be interesting to see how he fares on Day 2.

Bowles was also impressed with Hurst, and he focused on how well his raw traits shined through on Day 1.

"Great size, very good athlete," Bowles said. "He's gotta get used to the heat a little bit himself, even though he's from Georgia, but you can see the athleticism and the size and what you liked about him coming out from the draft. He's just gonna get better and better as he learns the system and gets more comfortable, but he looks good on the whole and he moves very smooth."

Injuries sidelining two draft picks

There were two notable Buccaneers rookies that did not participate during Day 1.

Fourth-round cornerback Keionte Scott had a cast on his arm when he arrived at One Buc Place, which he said was due to surgery he had on his wrist. He told media that he'd be ready for training camp and that he'd have the cast off in 10 days.

Fifth-round defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart also has a wrist injury, per Bowles, and did not participate in Day 1. Bowles said that Capehart can "do some things" as it stands, but they thought that they'd make sure he was fully healthy.

Scott will not be back for rookie minicamp, and it is unknown if Capehart will participate during Day 2.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google