Buccaneers defensive back Zyon McCollum needed to show some improvement from his rookie performance in 2022. Friday against the Pittsburgh Steelers he took a huge step in doing that.
Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s pass to receiver Cody White was a pass in 2022 that would’ve beaten McCollum. That was then. McCollum made an acrobatic interception giving the ball right back to the Buccaneers.
What a pick, @zyon_mccollum ‼️
📺: #PITvsTB on WFLA
📲: Stream now https://t.co/H9QxLbfzc5 pic.twitter.com/lAftq8cXmM— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 11, 2023
McCollum talked about this after the game.
“They like to throw fades, so [I got my] head around quick,” McCollum said via pewterreport.com. “It was just like we practiced. He took outside release; I knew it was a fade, I got my head around, and the ball just came to me.”
McCollum talking about his mindset and what was different during the play eludes to his progress from his rookie season.
“Really nothing, to be honest. You’re just so like in the moment, and I’m just seeing with my eyes, where my two feet are. I’m just thinking about intercepting the ball, the ball’s in the air. I don’t want to break it up, I want to intercept it. I know we got tangled up, so I tried to get it up, and then it just popped up perfectly for me, and I just caught it.”
McCollum went on to talk about building confidence from the interception. More so that his work during the offseason is starting to show results.
“It’s big. It lets me know that a lot of the work that I’ve been putting in is coming to fruition, and it’s just the first step, it’s just the first game. It’s good to know we’re going in the right direction, and it gives me motivation to keep doing what I’m doing and keep working hard.”
McCollum still has several parts of his game that need improving. But as he said, seeing his hard work show results is encouraging.
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