[Tampa Bay Buccaneers News]

Imagine standing in the middle of a notoriously frenzied Los Angeles freeway, staring down a horde of rapidly approaching vehicles, their drivers intent on wiping you from existence. With you in their sights, the oncoming automobiles ravenously accelerate.

Now imagine that, rather than sprinting away, you run headlong into those vehicles with reckless abandon.

It sounds like a nightmare, but that high stakes game of Frogger pretty much describes the job that wide receiver Chad Owens desperately wants to earn this summer. That job is otherwise known as NFL kick returner, in this case for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


“I’m not just hungry for it, I’m starving; I want it,” said Owens, a sixth-round draft choice of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005 and one of the Bucs’ newest players.

Owens joined the Bucs as a free agent this past January. He wasn’t on a team at the end of the 2006 season, and though his playing time was limited during his first two seasons in the league, Owens was quickly nabbed by the Buccaneers. They project him as a viable candidate for the role of return man this season – and not without good reason.

At 5-7 and 188 pounds, Owens is a diminutive but explosive athlete with an impressive college resume. While at Hawaii, the former walk-on tied the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored on kick returns in a career with eight (six punts and two kickoffs), and set the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored on punt returns in a season with five during his senior year.

Buccaneers - News