Every sport, regardless of age, pushes their players to constantly work on intangibles to ensure they perform at peak levels. One of those intangibles is the way that players condition their bodies to handle the grind of a full season's workload.
Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans were excited when the team drafted Bucky Irving out of Oregon University in the fourth round with the 125th pick. He presented a lot of upside, and fans hoped he would bolster the backfield, to go along with current running back Rachaad White. Some fans even were hoping he would be named the starter. So what was it that held him back?
According to the running back coach, Skip Peete, it was the conditioning that Irving showed up to camp in that held him out of the starting role. He even went on record saying that the team had to "monitor kind of how many snaps he took" because they did not feel he could handle the starting back carries.
Looking at the season that Irving had, it is hard to say that he could have been much better. He racked up 1,122 yards on the ground on just 207 carries. He also added 47 receptions out of the backfield. He proved to be a versatile weapon for the team.
As the season wore on, he definitely found his stride and looked to be in phenomenal shape by the end of the season. Buccaneers fans should be excited about the opportunity for Irving to once again battle for the starting position this season, and to see what he can do with a full season of being in shape.