NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Hillcrest grad Bucky Irving in fourth round

Bucky Irving was nervous as he slid his finger on his cellphone to answer a call he waited for his entire life. But once he answered the call, he finally heard the words he waited for all weekend.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Hillcrest alumnus Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in Detroit on Saturday with the 125th overall selection.

“It was emotional,” Irving told reporters during a Zoom press conference. “It’s just something you’ve been waiting for your entire life.”

Irving became the highest drafted Hawks alumnus and the third to be drafted. Herb Coleman was drafted in the seventh round of the 1995 draft while Danny Clark was taken in the seventh round in 2000.

[ NFL Combine: Hillcrest alum Bucky Irving ready to put on a show ]

The Buccaneers were the last team Irving visited during the pre-draft process. He liked everything he heard from the organization during the visit and was excited to join a strong running back room with Rachaad White.

“I felt the energy and I loved the people in there,” Irving said. “It was that.”

Irving had success as an explosive back first at Minnesota before transferring to Oregon the last two seasons. He rushed for 699 yards and four touchdowns with the Golden Gophers in 2021 before rushing for 1,058 yards and five touchdowns and 1,180 and 11 touchdowns the last two seasons, respectively.

Even with the success on the ground, Irving also showed an ability to catch the ball, primarily at Oregon. He caught 31 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore and brought in 56 passes for 413 yards and two touchdowns.

Irving seemed destined to play in the NFL after many national college programs were interested in the running back after his time at Hillcrest. He finished his career with 3,264 rushing yards with the Hawks, not playing his senior season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were some draft experts that questioned what Irving can do in the NFL because of his size. At 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds, Irving became the sixth running back drafted this weekend.

“It was emotional. It’s just something you’ve been waiting for your entire life.”

—  Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back

Irving wasn’t worried about those who doubted him. He also made sure to remember which teams passed on him and who teams chose in front of him.

Irving’s been doubted before and is looking forward to proving his worth in the NFL.

“I’ve been doubted my whole life saying I’m too small,” Irving said. “I got to put my head down, work and whoever wasn’t here with me from the start, they’re just going to have to find out.”