NFL Nimmo fits into Bucs' system

The New Castle native is impressing Tampa Bay Buccaneers brass.
By TOM BALOG
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
TAMPA, Fla. -- The intense work ethic that Lance Nimmo developed on his family's farm outside New Castle, Pa., is forging his bid for a roster spot with the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 6-foot-5, 303-pound rookie out of West Virginia is the leading candidate to become the Bucs' backup to left tackle Roman Oben. Nimmo is also being asked to learn right tackle, which he had never played, so he can back up at two positions.
"We're trying to improve his versatility,'' said Bucs coach Jon Gruden. "Where if he's not an opening day starter, he possibly could become an NFL active player and be a guy we could consider as a backup right tackle for Kenyatta Walker or a backup left tackle for Roman Oben.''
Air time
Nimmo figures to play both positions for at least two quarters tonight when the Bucs meet the St. Louis Rams in a nationally-televised preseason game in St. Louis.
He played a quarter and a half in the Bucs' preseason opener against the New York Jets in Tokyo. Then he played two quarters against the Dolphins in Miami 10 days ago, his first time lining up at right tackle.
"I didn't make any mental errors [in Miami],'' said Nimmo, who was a four-time all-academic honoree as well as a first-team All-Big East Conference lineman last year. "As a rookie, that's the biggest thing.
"Mentally, it's not bad. Physically [going] from a left-hand stance to right-hand stance, it's awkward, I'm not going to lie,'' said Nimmo, who turns 24 next month.
"That's why you get paid to play football. Make an adjustment and go with it. Even for a rookie, there's no grace period. The sensation of trying to feel my way around really isn't there.''
Gruden is being patient with Nimmo. He's lined up many times against Bucs' Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice, one of the league's premier pass rushers.
"We like his progress,'' Gruden said. "He's had some good days, he's had some tough days.
"This is a very difficult defense to operate against. You stand out there against Simeon Rice one play and you got [backup defensive end] Ellis Wyms champing at the bit.
"It is a hard day's work, as a young offensive tackle when you're playing both positions for [Bucs offensive line coach] Bill Muir and the expectation level is so high. But he's doing some good things. We like his toughness, his athleticism and the fact he is a prospect.''
Nimmo thinks that battling Rice is only going to benefit him.
"He has those long arms and great speed and you have to be on top of your game if you want to have a chance against him,'' Nimmo said. "The thing about this level is that you have to be perfect every time you take a set or they're going to make you look like a fool. Which I think is great anyhow, because it forces you to be a good technician. After the first week of camp and I got my technique down, I feel I can compete.''
Answering the call
Nimmo has welcomed the challenge of joining the Super Bowl champions ever since he answered the phone at his girlfriend Becky Tolley's apartment in Morgantown, W.Va., on draft day last April and heard Gruden's voice. He was taken in the fourth round, the 130th overall pick.
"It was exciting because the first person I talked to was Coach Gruden. That was pretty awesome,'' Nimmo said. "He's like, 'You ready to be a Buccaneer?' That's all it took.
"I was the first person from my high school to get drafted,'' said Nimmo, who went to Laurel High. "So that was huge for my area. I graduated with 98 kids.
"I like coming to a team where the bar's already high and they're like, 'You come to our level' ... where there's already pressure.' We're the best, so you have to live up to what we expect.' That brings out the best in everybody.''
That mentality is what sold Muir on Nimmo, when the team was screening prospects before the draft. The Bucs' objective in the middle rounds was to retool the line, regarded as the weakness of the team.
"He's just an outright tough guy, and I endear myself to people like that,'' Muir said. "He has the characteristics of a lot of successful left tackles in the league. He increases the competitiveness of our offensive line roster, which is exactly what our intent was.''
Leaving the farm
As much as Nimmo enjoys the NFL, he was torn about being forced away from his duties on the family farm, a 450-acre spread outside New Castle. The Nimmos, including his father Bob, mother Joan, brother Bobby and sister Jami, have 150 head of beef cattle. Primarily, they raise corn, oats and spelt.
It was time to bail hay when Nimmo was in Tampa for off-season workouts in May and June.
"I felt badly when I was down here working out in June, I wasn't able to help my family,'' Nimmo said. "They got behind so when I went up there [before training camp], it wasn't like, 'I'm going to an NFL camp, I'm taking it easy.' As soon as I got up there, I went right to the field, mowed the fields and bailed them.''
Nimmo's toughest adjustment in training camp, which ended Friday, was the Florida weather.
"It's 90-some degrees, with real high humidity and the sun's out,'' Nimmo said. "The hottest day up there doesn't compare with what it is down here, that's for sure. Up in West Virginia, it might be hot, but there's not much humidity. So the perspiration would evaporate off your arm. Down here, it just forms like little clumps and doesn't go anywhere. Nobody's died yet, so I guess it's do-able. ''
XTom Balog, a Youngstown native, covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.