Bucs QBs coach: No clear starter yet in 'coachable' group

Despite the absence of a clear-cut starter heading into training camp, Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Greg Olson is confident Tampa Bay will receive solid play at the game's most critical position this fall.

"I've got a great room right now,'' Olson said after the Bucs concluded their final voluntary practice session of the summer. "All of our quarterbacks are intelligent and highly coachable.''

Veterans Luke McCown and Byron Leftwich are expected to compete for the No. 1 job in training camp, backed by rookie Josh Freeman and second-year pro Josh Johnson. Another veteran, Brian Griese, didn't attend the voluntary workouts and is unlikely to remain on the roster when camp opens Aug. 1.

Olson spoke in detail about each quarterback in the mix as the Bucs move on from two-year starter Jeff Garcia, who is now with the Oakland Raiders.

"Luke's never one to complain,'' Olson said. "His personality and work ethic haven't changed. I don't think he's the type of guy that would want something just handed to him. What's different for Luke is he spent years in our previous system. Now, he's had to learn an entirely new terminology, and he's kind of had to take a step back. They're all learning it day by day. After spending those years with Jon Gruden's West Coast [offense], Luke was having a great feel for it.''

The Bucs signed Leftwich as a free agent from the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. A former first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Leftwich was recently slowed by a slight groin injury.

"Byron has great experience, and he throws a great deep ball,'' said Olson. "He sees the field very, very well. But he's an awful athlete. He claims he scored 59 points in a basketball game, but I want to see the boxscore. We call him the slug. He's got slow feet, a slow delivery ... all those things you beat him up on. Then he goes out and just makes plays. He's got a great attitude and some real natural leadership qualities - I just like being around him.''

Tampa Bay traded up in the first round to select Freeman out of Kansas State University, where he got to know Raheem Morris in 2006. Morris served as Kansas State's defensive coordinator during Freeman's freshman year and now is the 32-year-old head coach of the Bucs.

"He's got a great arm and great feet for a 260-pound quarterback,'' Olson said of Freeman. "With Byron hurt this week, we put Josh in with the vets and he responded well in live situations. He's made some big plays, and that's been very encouraging. He's a really good kid. He's got a smile on his face every day, and he almost reminds me of a freshman coming into college. He's kind of loosey-goosey and there's no question about his intelligence.''

Johnson is still trying to figure out his role in this crowded competitive atmosphere.

"It's different with him because after we signed Byron and drafted Freeman in the first round, Josh was very disappointed,'' Olson said. "But he hasn't been a guy that has moped around. He's handled it like a professional and taken the reps he gets. He was down initially for a couple of days when we signed Byron. When we drafted Freeman, you could kind of see the writing on the wall a little bit. I told Josh we did keep four quarterbacks a year ago and told him to keep working to impress not only us but also other teams in the preseason.''

Olson said it's difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions about the competition at this point.

"We're out here in shorts and it's difficult to get a feel for a quarterback when there's not a live rush,'' he said. "It would be hard to say right now that this guy is our definite guy.''