Lake Region grad looking for spot with Bucs – The Ledger
<p>TAMPA — Offensive lineman Thor Jozwiak came off the practice field at One Buc Place drenched in sweat. The University of South Florida and Lake Region alum had just practiced for 90 minutes with other prospects at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie mini-camp. Jozwiak, who came to the camp on a tryout basis, was hoping to do enough to intrigue the team to offer him an invite to the remaining offseason workouts and training camp.</p><p>“It was a blast,” Jozwiak said of his workouts that ended Sunday. “Just getting the invite by the organization, the Bucs, especially being from Winter Haven, being an hour away. It’s an honor and a blessing to be called out here to work with these great coaches and great players.</p><p>“It’s challenging because they throw all the plays at you and it’s more of a mental aspect right now,” Jozwiak said. “All of us young guys, coming from a spread offense, working toward the pro offense, it’s challenging and its work. But the coaches are great here. (Offensive line coach George) Warhop, this guy has been an NFL coach for 21 years. He’s a phenomenal guy, phenomenal coach. Just absorbing all of his knowledge is going to make me a better player. It’s really, really special. It’s difficult but it’s really good football wise because you get to learn a lot.”</p><p>He was with 50 other draft picks and undrafted rookies vying for one of the few spots available. He knows it’s a long shot and was happy to get a chance. The feat was to overcome tough odds, something he has done before.</p><p>Jozwiak missed a year of football while at USF after undergoing a heart procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. At first, he thought he may never play again but after getting a clean bill of health, he returned to the field for two more seasons, including a senior year in which he earned second-team all-conference honors.</p><p>While it’s tough for undrafted or tryout guys to make the team in general, it’s tougher on the lineman because they can’t show their strength or blocking ability against an opponent.</p><p>“It’s definitely harder for those guys,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said. “That’s where — when they’re doing their individual drills with the coaches — you have to rely a lot on the experience of your line coaches and you know, we have two really good ones in George Warhop and (defensive line coach) Jay Hayes. Those guys have to lean on their experience of what they’ve seen throughout their career on how these guys compare to other guys. You guys know that linemen — your depth at line goes down fast as the season goes on. We got some great looking guys out here. Good young linemen that could come in and stick are worth their weight in gold.”</p><p>Jozwiak hopes he is one of them. If not, the newlywed would go back to USF and see if he can find a job there.</p><p>“I would love to move into something with athletics, even if it’s working with boosters,” he said. “I had the opportunity to talk with many of them and really enjoyed doing that and help the university that has given so much to me.”</p>
