TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Cornerback Zyon McCollum, the Buc 2022 5th round pick, started his NFL career off with a hamstring injury. He missed the first four games of the regular season.

This year is a new chapter for him.

“In practice, you have to stay healthy as much as you can and so just having all of that experience I’m eager to put my technique to the test,” Tampa Bay Buccaneer cornerback said McCollum. 

Speed isn’t an issue for Zyon McCollum. In fact, the cornerback ran a 4.33 at the NFL Combine in 2022. He also had a perfect athleticism score. The challenge for him now is controlling his speed.

“I’m fast so I like to go fast but in this game, you have to be able to have control over your speed and you see a lot of guys like Chris Godwin, who are the fastest guys, but somehow find ways to create separation and that’s just because guys like that know how to utilize their speed and once we get that down, we’re workin’,” said Mccollum.

He’s also getting comfortable in head coach Todd Bowles defense. McCollum picked off Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in preseason game one. The key for McCollum is slowing down mentally.

“Understanding this defense and the ins and the outs, not just my position, but the positions that are around me has allowed me to be able to use them more than I ever have before,” said Mccollum. 

Bowles has high expectations for the second-year NFL veteran.

“He’s got to be better at tackling. He leaves his feet too early. We discussed that he understands that the interception was outstanding but the touchdown run he missed and then he missed another tackle there. He was lunging too much. She’s got to gather we’ve got to work on tackling,” said Bucs head coach Todd Bowles. 

“I have to run my body into guys wrap them up and continue to drive my feet and it’s just something that I have to work on every day and practice until it’s perfected like I said before if I’m missing a tackle in a game at any point in my career it means that I need to work on it,” said Mccollum.