New Buccaneers C Graham Barton is Ready to Focus on Football

Barton gets to pursue his passion full time after coming to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft pick Graham Barton earned his degree at Duke University after four years playing for the team, but he didn't go to graduation to walk across the stage in Durham.

"Graduation is overrated," Barton joked to media on the second day of rookie minicamp Saturday.

And while it was indeed a joke, his new career path certainly is not. Barton has transitioned from being a student-athlete to a full-time NFL player once the Bucs drafted him, and it's something he's been looking forward to for a long time. Gone are the days of 11:59 deadlines, and now, though the work is grueling, Barton has time to dig into the sport he loves the most.

READ MORE: Observations From Offense and Defense On Day 2 of Buccaneers Rookie Minicamp

"It's a full-time job now, right? It's not just something you do in the morning and then you go to class the rest of the day," Barton said. "You have a lot of time to install more things and to go in more depth. So, just trying to learn as best as possible, obviously, just getting here a couple of days ago."

Barton showed great leadership ability at Duke during his time there, and that's something the Bucs are counting on. He mentioned learning best as possible, and offensive line coach Kevin Carberry has noticed that pursuit.

When talking to the media, Carberry said that he told Barton he'd have to step in as a leader on the offensive line right away, and he believes his passion for the gridiron will allow him to do just that.

"He's wired the right way — he plays the game the right way," Carberry said of Barton. "It's clear on film that he loves football, that when you talk to him, football is important. He loves ball."

READ MORE: Ex-FSU Football Linebacker Kalen DeLoach Watched Buccaneer Linebacker In College

Now that he's in the NFL full-time, Barton will have ample opportunity to learn. Devoting himself to football could turn him into quite the player, which the Bucs will hope is the case after spending the No. 26 overall pick on him.

And as his NFL journey starts at rookie minicamp, he — and the other rookies in Tampa Bay — has gotten plenty of opprotunity to study his craft.

"It's meetings twice a day, it's practice and walkthroughs and lots and lots of reps, which is great for us rookies," Barton said. "Trying to use that to my advantage, to improve and build a bank of reps."

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