Bucs’ Energetic LG Leverett Faces Big Test vs. Donald

Of course, the fact that rookie Luke Goedeke is still out with an ankle injury played into the easy decision to start Leverett. But a strong showing against an All-Pro like Donald could mean that the coaches turn to Leverett to keep the starting job – even when Goedeke gets healthy.

Leverett saw his first action of the season platooning with Goedeke during the 21-3 loss at Carolina. Like any football player, he certainly preferred the wire-to-wire action he saw against Baltimore.

“Definitely more comfortable when you and the guy in front of you are like breaking the ice for the first couple of plays of the game and then you get rolling at that point,” Leverett said. “When you come in like Carolina, I came in like the third series, it was him comfortable and me breaking the ice essentially. At the same time, me breaking the ice, I can’t let that … I can’t lose because I’m trying to break the ice, that’s my mindset.

“I’ve got to go in the game and still win breaking the ice. I’ve got to come in hot. That’s my mindset every game. I don’t try to break the ice. I try to come in hot, and let the guy across from me know, ‘I’m here, I’m playing ball, you can get me all four quarters, you better strap up and get ready.’”

Leverett, an undrafted free agent who played at both North Carolina Central and Rice in college, brings energy and attitude to a Bucs offensive line that has been lacking in both areas this season. Tampa Bay has missed that style of play without former team captain and Pro Bowl left guard Ali Marpet, who retired, and Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen, the tone-setter up front.

Leverett Brings The Energy To Bucs O-Line

Being a fire-starter on the offensive line is something that comes naturally to Leverett, whose first NFL action on offense came in an emergency situation with 60 snaps against Indianapolis last year.

“Definitely, that started in college for me,” Leverett said. “That was just the lifestyle we lived as an offensive line in college at North Carolina Central and then of course that transferred to Rice. I was like the spark, an Energizer bunny who got the team going. That carried over to here, and I was doing it my rookie year. Donny [Donovan Smith] can tell you that I’d go out there and just scream before we started, that would get guys going. That’s kind of always been me.”

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a star player that brings the juice to practice or on game days. Sometimes it can be a quality reserve, such as Leverett’s counterpart on defense, backup nose tackle Rakeem “Nacho” Nunez-Roches.

“Me and Nacho, we’re real cool,” Leverett said. “I feed off of Nacho, he does his thing on his side of the ball. We go at it sometimes. It’s like he’ll get hyped and I’m like ‘Nah, we about to stop that!’ I play with energy, I try to give that energy to the rest of the offense. I definitely see they feed off of it. The coaches come up to me, telling me they need the energy – that’s without being said, I’ll give it regardless. My goal is to go out there and play, bring the energy, and get the team hyped.”

Bucs right tackle Tristan Wirfs said the offensive line definitely felt the spark that Leverett brought to the lineup on Thursday night.

“I think he just brings a different type of energy,” Wirfs said. “He’s always – I don’t know if you guys hear him screaming out of practice and stuff – he’s always brought that the past three years he’s always had that. He brings his own little flare, his own little style and it’s awesome, it’s what we need. He’s just a wild man, I love it.”

With just 88 snaps between the Carolina and Baltimore game, Leverett has an 81.7 overall grade per Pro Football Focus, including an 80 run blocking grade and a 78.6 pass protection grade. That’s head and shoulders above the struggling Goedeke, who is one of the bottom five starting guards in the league.

“Nick played well,” Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said of Leverett’s play against the Ravens. “He’s a guy who’s been around who’s really been just waiting on his opportunity. We stuck him in before in the past – he played well for us sparingly when he had to play. I believe that’s who Nick is. That’s who Nick is – you can trust Nick, you see the energy that he comes with every day; it doesn’t just show in the game, it shows itself in practice. I think Nick played well.”

When asked if Leverett would remain the starter moving forward on Thursday, Leftwich was non-committal.

“We’ll see,” Leftwich said. “We’ll see.”

A strong, energetic showing against Donald would certainly help Leverett change Leftwich’s mind.