Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter loves what he has in Alex Cappa

There are things coaches really like about rookies coming out of college. Each player has their own traits that catches the eyes of their coaches and are main reasons why they are selected in the draft.

For an offensive lineman, the ability to play multiple positions along the line is a huge plus. That’s what Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter loves about lineman Alex Cappa.

“A lot of these smaller school guys play left tackle for their school, but they’re projected somewhere else,” Koetter said about Cappa. “We really feel like he’s a guy that could play across the line. In his college days, he did practice some as a center too and as you know, on game day when we’ve got seven up, they have to be able to play more than one position. So, we’re going to primarily work him as a guard, but we’re going to work with him at everything. So he’d be a right guard/right tackle, center for right now.”

When drafted, general manager Jason Licht alluded to Cappa getting work in at right tackle. Now we know that the team will work him out at each position on the right side of the line including center.

Fortunately for Cappa and the Bucs, the Humboldt State product has the intelligence to pick things up quickly — something else Koetter is excited about.

“He’s sharp, very sharp,” said Koetter. “That’s one thing; when you don’t have the pads on, the thing you can learn about these guys is how sharp they are and how quick they pick up, how naturally football comes to them. He’s one that definitely fits in that category.”

The big test for Cappa and the rest of the rookies comes Monday, when they begin work with the veterans.