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By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 6, 2001
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One of the traditions of training camp is sharing a room with a teammate. Starting today, the Times will ask one Buccaneer to describe his roommate in terms of a popular movie, television or cartoon character. Here is tight end Todd Yoder's description of roommate Frank Murphy:
"He's like Flash Gordon. You know the guy who moves around at a blind speed. Frank does everything fast. He's like crazy legs moving around."
NAME: Sean McDermott.
HT/WT: 6-4; 250.
COLLEGE: Kansas.
POSITION: Long snapper/tight end.
NFL EXPERIENCE: Rookie.
HOMETOWN: Arlington, Texas.
BACK IN THE DAY: McDermott did not start playing until eighth grade. But he made an early impression. He was a freshman and special-teams player when Kansas beat UCLA in the 1995 Aloha Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the country. As a junior, he caught a 35-yard touchdown pass in front of family friends at Texas A&M. But one of his biggest thrills is the 10-pound bass he caught at his aunt's and uncle's private stock pond in east Texas. "That's a big bass," the avid fisherman said.
BRUSH WITH GREATNESS: McDermott met Ann Richards when he accompanied his father to the opening of a National Health Mental Retardation center where the soon-to-be Texas governor appeared about 15 years ago in Lufkin. "My dad said, 'This is an important lady, she's going to be a future governor,' " McDermott said. "I was 11 or 12. It wasn't the biggest thing, but I thought it was neat."
TO MAKE THE TEAM: McDermott is one of six or seven players competing for two backup tight end spots behind Dave Moore. But his best chance to make the team could come at long snapper, where he and rookie Russ Hochstein are the lone combatants. "Long snapping, they're counting on me to contribute this year," McDermott said.
WHAT'S HIS TAKE: "I've snapped ever since I've had pads on. It's been very natural to keep doing it. Some people don't want to do it, but when you've done it that long it just becomes something you're used to doing." -- FRANK PASTOR
"There is pressure on every quarterback in this league. If you don't win the Super Bowl, it's not good enough." -- BRAD JOHNSON, quarterback on hopes for the season.
TODAY: 8:30-10:40 a.m., shells; 3:30-5:15 p.m., shorts.
* Practices are free and open to public.