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Head Coach Jon Gruden on 1st Round Draft Pick CB Aqib Talib

Buccaneers.com provides a good collection of quotes from Head Coach Jon Gruden about 1st Round Draft Pick CB Aqib Talib:

Gruden on Talib the person:

"You're going to meet a guy that has tremendous confidence, he's got a real passion to play," Gruden said. "It's a contagious vibe. He's a leader at [KU], and when you watch him practice or when you see him play, you know who No. 3 is. You just can't help but walk away feeling his presence on a football field. He's that kind of competitor and playmaker. He's a guy that sits on the edge of the chair and he just wants to go out and play," Gruden said. "He wants to be in the yard playing ball, it's just what he does. We need that. We need some juice here, certainly some playmaking, and we need some confidence. Sometimes when he plays there's a little arrogance, honestly. I like this guy a lot. He's a great kid. Football means the world to him, and I think he'll represent us well. I expect him to come in here and full-force compete," Gruden said. "He's in a competitive situation. We feel like we've got two very good corners here, Ronde [Barber] and Phillip Buchanon, and Eugene Wilson gives us some real versatility, a guy that can play the nickel, play either safety position. It's good to have some ball-hawking guys back there that can cover man-to-man and instinctively play the football when it's in flight." - Buccaneers.com

Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin on Talib's ability to start:

"We always let guys come in and compete, especially first-round or second-round picks. They are going to come in and compete, but that doesn't mean that we just start them. They have to earn it because we like who we have right now. But you can't have enough corners" - Buccaneers.com

Those are some great quotes. The more and more I read about Talib, the more I like him. If you're Phillip Buchanon you have to be a little worried. I mean this smells exactly like the Will Allen - Tanard Jackson competition last season at safety and we know who won that battle and rightfully so. It's a great problem to have. Obviously the competition is between Talib and Buchanon and it appears Eugene Wilson will be used as a tweener, a go between two positions type character. I like that. Thats a nice young secondary should Talib catch on: Jermaine Phillips, Tanard Jackson, and Aqib Talib.. We also have Sabby Piscitelli waiting in the wings. Hopefully these cats learn from the best in Ronde Barber.