New Buc McCoy says he's 'not going to disappoint'

TAMPA By Friday afternoon, Gerald McCoy's tears had dried up and given way to a smile as big as his potential.

"Hi, everybody," McCoy said as he was introduced to members of the Tampa Bay media at One Buc Place. "I hope you're having a good day, because mine is magnificent. I'm a Buccaneer now, and I'm elated to be here."

Tampa Bay might soon be elated, too. McCoy, the defensive tackle out of Oklahoma whom the Bucs chose Thursday with the third pick in the NFL draft, appears to have as much charm, wit and personality as he does football skill.

His initial news conference was a string of witty one-liners and light-hearted acknowledgements, such as the one he gave Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, whom McCoy vividly remembers facing in college.

"He's like the biggest quarterback I ever had to sack," McCoy said of the 6-foot-6, 248-pound Freeman, who played at Kansas State. "I sacked him, but when I got up after the sack, I was like, 'Dang, that was hard.' "

McCoy, 22, drew another round of laughs when he spoke of his reaction to first seeing the statue in the One Buc Place lobby dedicated to the Super Bowl championship team.

"That's my favorite thing in here," McCoy said. "Warren Sapp told me, 'Hey G, when you get there, check out the statue.' When I saw it I texted him back and asked him, 'Why do you look so fat on the statue?' "

Not even the Bucs' owners were immune. With co-chairmen Ed and Bryan Glazer seated in the front row, McCoy finished a comment about meeting them by nodding to them and saying, "Thanks guys, you're wonderful."

It wasn't all fun and games, of course. When it came to talking about his role as a cornerstone of the Bucs' defense, McCoy's smile disappeared and he got serious for a moment.

"I'm going to be exactly what you guys drafted me for and everything you guys have seen on film," he said. "What you think Gerald McCoy is, that's what I'm going to be. I don't plan to disappoint."

He can't afford to. McCoy has a 4-year-old daughter - Nevaeh (heaven spelled backward) - and he said just about everything he does is geared toward making her life better.

"She's the main reason I work so hard," McCoy said. "I don't want to let my family down. My family's my heart, and this is my ticket for my daughter to have a successful life and have it better than I did.

"I want things to be easier for her than they were for me. I want her to know what it means to work hard, like I did, but also, if she wants to go to college, it will be set for her."

McCoy is set to step in as the Bucs' starting under tackle. And as much as he likes to joke off the field, he makes sure to flip that switch when he crosses the white lines.

"I was like that at the combine, joking around and all, but then we got to the drills everybody was saying, 'What happened to him, why's he so angry?' " he said. "I was like, 'I don't play with this. This is not a game to me.' "

You wouldn't have known it listening to him on Friday. When asked where he stood in school, McCoy said he's slated to graduate in May but he has a little work left to do.

"I'm currently taking classes," he said. "In fact, I have a paper due Monday. The class: Intro to Interpersonal Skills. Yeah, it's insane. I could have sworn I was a senior."