Jack Pyburn’s NFL start has come with a different edge.
The former LSU defensive end turned heads in his preseason debut for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, getting to the quarterback twice in just 25 snaps during a 24-16 win over the New York Jets. Afterward, Pyburn pointed to one thing he says separates this version of him from the player who went through college at Florida and LSU: the work.
“My entire college career, I just don’t think I worked hard enough,” Pyburn said after practice Monday. “When I reflect back on it, no matter where I was, whether I was at Florida or LSU, I just did not dedicate my life to it.
And simply, this is everything that I’ve ever wanted since I was a kid. My screen saver is me as a little kid playing football, and it says do it for him.
I look at that every day when I wake up at 4:30, 5:00 in the morning, and that’s what I’m doing now.”
Pyburn, a Jacksonville native, spent his senior season at LSU after transferring from Florida. He played 12 games for the Tigers and finished with 52 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Before that, he logged three seasons with the Gators, appearing in 29 games and starting eight times. All eight starts came during his junior year, when he put up 60 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack and an interception.
For Pyburn, the draft day setback became a turning point. The 22-year-old went unpicked in April before signing a three-year, $3 million undrafted free agent deal with Tampa Bay in May.
“I’ve always been a good football player and had a good college career, but I didn’t perform how I wanted to perform,” Pyburn said. “Part of that is a mental side of the game that I didn’t fully tap into and a confidence aspect.
And when I sat on my couch on the day of the draft, and I didn’t get drafted, I had to look at myself in the mirror and decide, ‘Who do I want to be?’ Do I want to say, ‘Why me?’
Or do I want to say, ‘Why not me?’ And in that moment, I chose, ‘Why not me?’
And I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my life to be where I’m at, and I’m going to continue to work even harder.”
He also said the shift has gone beyond the weight room and field work. Pyburn said he has put more focus into the mental side of the game and got off social media after going undrafted.
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