Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft Pitt LB SirVocea Dennis

SirVocea Dennis led the Pitt Panthers in tackling the past two seasons.

PITTSBURGH -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be flushed with Pitt Panthers for the next few years as they added linebacker SirVocea Dennis to their 2023 Draft class, selecting him with the 153rd overall pick in the fifth round. He joins defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who the Buccaneers took at pick 19 overall. 

Dennis was a late bloomer in the draft process. He hurt his foot at the Senior Bowl in February and did not play in the exhibition game after practicing all week. He also sat out of workouts at the NFL Combine. But Dennis rebounded, impressing scouts with his mental traits in team meetings and showing off his athleticism with impressive testing numbers in the 40-yard dash and the vertical leap. 

Dennis was a stalwart middle linebacker for two seasons, leading the Pitt defense from the inside. He earned All-ACC recognition three years in a row, climbing from the third team in 2020 to the second team in 2021 and ending up on the first team in 2022. He even earned third-team All-American honors from Pro Football Focus last season and was named a finalist for the Dick Butkus Award, given annually to college football's best linebacker. 

Dennis led the Panthers in tackles in each of the last two seasons. He finished his career at Pitt having recorded 233 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles in 42 games. 

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