TAMPA, Fla. _ Linebacker State University, or LSU for short, is where players at football's toughest position are poured out freely and in large quantities as bourbon in the bayou.
You have to marvel at the recent lineage of linebackers from Baton Rouge to Tampa Bay alone.
Kwon Alexander, Kendell Beckwith and Kevin Minter were all former LSU backers on the Bucs roster last season. Deion Jones, a second round pick in 2016, is roaming the middle for the Falcons.
So naturally, after losing Alexander to the 49ers in free agency, the Bucs headed back to Linebacker State U to replace him.
And here's the Bucs belief: Devin White may be the best of them all.
The Bucs selected White with the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday. The only surprising thing was how absolutely unsurprising it was.
Any analyst worth his mock draft had the Bucs and White at No. 5.
But the Raiders threw the Bucs a curve a No. 4 when they selected Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell. That left White and Kentucky defensive end Josh Allen, who was second in the FBS with 17 sacks last season and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
At 6-foot, 238-pounds, White is bigger and faster than Alexander, who was a fourth-round pick in the Bucs vaunted 2015 draft class.
White's production at LSU was undeniable. The Butkus Award winner as the nation's best college linebacker recorded 256 tackles, 26 { for loss, with seven sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
The Bucs could've gone with a defensive lineman, especially with the murky status of defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who is expected to eventually be traded or released.
And Tampa Bay could've used another edge rusher like Allen with Jason Pierre-Paul at 30 and Carl Nassib set to become a free agent next season.
Oh, but linebacker was by far the biggest need on a defense that allowed 29 points per game last season, especially with the departure of Alexander.
It's rare for an off the ball linebacker to be selected in the top 10. Only four have gone that high since 2010: Rolando McClain (2010), Luke Kuechly, Anthony Barr (2014) and Roquan Smith (2018).
Thursday's first round began to play out the way the Bucs believed it would. The Arizona Cardinals selected Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray No. 1 overall, despite having taken UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen in the first round a year ago.
The 49ers went with Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa. At No. 3, the Jets went with Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and the Raiders chose Ferrell.
The Bucs hadn't taken a defensive end in the first round of the draft since Iowa's Adrian Clayborn in 2011.
Though Allen was tempting, they went with a 21-year-old player who will be the quarterback of Bowles defense for many years to come.
