Rueben Bain Jr. Rocks Buccaneers Legend's Jersey for Rookie Minicamp

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not expect to have Rueben Bain Jr. on their football team.

Bain Jr., an All-American defensive lineman out of Miami, terrorized defenses with 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks last season. He was even better during the Hurricanes’ run to the national championship game in the College Football Playoff.

To start, he collected three sacks against Texas A&M, and he seemed to always find the football in the ensuing three games. The Hurricanes lost the national championship to Indiana, but Bain Jr. went out with a bang: eight total tackles (five solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.

Despite all this, NFL teams were concerned about his arm length, which was officially measured as 30 7/8″ at the 2026 NFL Combine in late February. That is the only plausible reason why Bain Jr. slid to the Buccaneers at No. 15 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23.

“Everybody’s got a prototype, and we kind of viewed him as a problem, not a prototype,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told Pat McAfee earlier this week, adding, “We just saw him as a game-wrecker.”

The Buccaneers have already rebranded Tampa Bay as “Tampa Bain,” according to the Bucs, but before Bain. Jr, there was Warren Sapp, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle. According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Sapp texted Bain Jr. to wish him well but let him know, “This my city.” Bain Jr. got the message loud and clear, as he showed up to rookie minicamp wearing a No. 99 Sapp jersey.

Per Laine, Bain Jr. is the first Miami Hurricane to be drafted by the Buccaneers in the first round since Sapp went 12th overall out of The U to Tampa Bay in 1995. Sapp was utterly dominant for the Bucs, especially at the turn of the century, and is considered the third-best player in franchise history.

That might feel like an immense pressure for most rookies, but Bain Jr. is unfazed by external chatter.

"My mindset is always to have a bit of an edge to me," Bain Jr. said at his introductory press conference on April 24. "I feel like I'm the best player, no matter what, so that's kind of what I feed into. I really don't let any outside noise dictate that. I just live with that mindset. I'm gonna get it each and every play.”

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 1:16 PM.