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Bucs Give A Shot To Mack At Nickel Back

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 1, 2009

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Philip Buchanon is in Motown and Elbert Mack is in place.

Signed by the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent last May, Mack will be given every opportunity to win Tampa Bay's open job at nickel back.

With Aqib Talib set to replace Buchanon as the starter at left cornerback, new head coach Raheem Morris is looking for someone to step up this summer and grab the nickel back role that Talib filled so effectively as a rookie in 2008.

"I'm definitely excited about this situation,'' Mack said Wednesday at the team's voluntary minicamp. "I'm going to keep working hard in practice, put it on tape in the preseason and just try to make this roster once again. Having Raheem be the head coach here means a lot to all of us. He was in the defensive backs room with me all year last season and he knows what I can do.''

Mack, 22, led the NCAA with eight interceptions as a senior at Troy, but he never heard his name called during the 2008 draft. Some NFL clubs may have been concerned by Mack's 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame.

"I fight,'' he said. "I'm gonna be a fighter. You step out there as a receiver and I might be undersized, but I'm gonna fight you to the death. That's how I approach my job every day. As soon as the ball leaves the quarterback's hand, it's up for grabs. The way I look at it, it's kind of like a rebound – whoever gets it, gets it.''

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