Todd Bowles: Bucs got "Lucky" with 2 Miami Champions

Todd Bowles: Bucs got "Lucky" with 2 Miami Champions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles knew exactly the type of defense he was scheming up when he secured Rueben Bain Jr. at No. 15 and paired him with Keionte Scott in the fourth round

Any other team, and it would have been the usual defensive depth additions. But with Bain Jr. and Scott, Bowles cooked up a defense that will have their opponents on notice much sooner than they expect.

Bowles is getting proven defensive pieces who stunned everyone with their collegiate stats. But, more importantly, he is getting two former teammates who already know how to function in sync.

They were a main part of the reason why the Miami Hurricanes, made it to the National Championship last season.

Both earned a nod from Bowles for their shared journey to the title game.

"To bring in two guys from the same school that happened to go to the national championship game, I'm glad Bain fell to us, and luckily Keionte fell to us," Bowles said.

Even Bain Jr. and Scott seem to cherish the bond they share from their Miami days.

"I feel like it speaks on the brotherhood we have at the University of Miami," Bain said. "It speaks on the amount of pride I got and where I'm at right now."

Coming from a massive national title run, the brotherhood feeling is mutual, as Scott emphasized on the same Miami pride Bain mentioned.

"Just being able to hold him, you know, accountable and him being able to hold me accountable is something that, you know, we're going to take pride in and then ultimately, you know, getting to see, you know, each other reach our goals," Scott said.

Drafting two guys from the same national title team might or might not have been their initial plan, but it turned out to be exactly what the Bucs needed this year.

"Those types of guys that we had rated high when it was our turn to pick. So, it kind of fit what we were looking for," Bolwes added.

With the rookie camps underway, Bain Jr. is already impressing with his instant "mid-season' form. In other words, Bain Jr. is taking every rep and every drill as his golden ticket to a Sunday night appearance this regular season.

Given Bowles’ focus on a defense-heavy haul, the edge has become a massive priority, paving the way for the ex-Hurricane to crack the starting rotation sooner rather than later.