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By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2001
Weakest Link
In the spirit of the Weakest Link, each day of training camp one Buc will get to vote on who or what should be thrown out:
Mark Royals votes the caterer out of camp. "I'll have to say that the crab legs are the weakest link. They've got to go. We're going to have crab legs about 12 times over the three weeks. Every other day or so."
NAME: John Howell
HT/WT: 5-11; 196
COLLEGE: Colorado State
POSITION: Safety
NFL EXPERIENCE: Rookie
HOMETOWN: Mullen, Neb.
BACK IN THE DAY: Howell attended tiny Mullen High (the only school in a town of 500, graduating class of 23) so he was a two-way star on the team's eight-man football team, playing quarterback and outside linebacker. But he is most proud of winning the state wrestling championship at 160 pounds during his senior year.
BRUSH WITH GREATNESS: Howell has hung out with ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso but he counts as his brush with greatness the first day he walked into the Bucs facility. "That was big time," he said. "(John) Lynch was there, (Warren) Sapp, Keyshawn (Johnson). There's not just one, it was so overwhelming."
TO MAKE THE TEAM: Howell is going to have to make himself stand out among the other rookies, but he's going to have a limited chance to do it, playing mostly special teams during camp. "Overall, I have to be mentally sharp and not make mistakes," he said. "There's too much at stake. I have got to have an impact."
WHAT'S HIS TAKE: Mullen may be from a small town, growing up on a ranch, but that doesn't mean he fits all the farmhand stereotypes. He's not a big auto racing fan and he doesn't wear a cowboy hat. He does indulge in a couple of outdoor hobbies, however. "If I'm not playing football, I'm either hunting or fishing. And I like to watch all sports."
"It's going to be a change from changing diapers to hitting people. But I would much rather go out and hit people right now." -- Defensive end Marcus Jones on reporting to camp after a summer with a newborn
TODAY: 8:30 a.m.: pads
3:30 p.m.: shells
TUESDAY: 8:30 a.m.: special teams
3:30 p.m.: shorts