The more and more Joe reads and hears others talk about Calijah Kancey, the more Joe is impressed with how driven the Bucs defensive tackle is.

Kancey is thirsty for knowledge. Most guys who are content don’t pick others’ brains as much as Kancey does.

For example, NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, a former 11-year NFL offensive lineman, regularly works out with Kancey. The two live in South Florida and met on the beach by chance. That sparked a friendship and a workout partner.

Kancey has been known to hit up Aaron Donald for football advice. And of course, Kancey went to Von Miller’s “Sack Summit” this summer to learn from the NFL’s best, including former Bucs great Warren Sapp.

And when Gerald McCoy visited training camp last week, Kancey could be seen practicing moves with GMC.

This mental aspect of Kancey also came up yesterday when Bucs left guard Ben Bredeson spoke about facing him in practice.

“We were just talking afterward, it was a great battle today going back and forth,” Bredeson said. “It’s great that we can have that camaraderie. We can talk about, ‘This is what I did on this set, how did you read it?’ And kind of work off each other.”

Bredeson later added that facing Kancey in practice is “a battle every day.”

Joe thinks it is great how Kancey doesn’t ever seem to pass up a chance to learn something about the game, about his position, about moves, etc. That tells Joe that Kancey is highly motivated to be the best he can be.

That’s a win-win for the Bucs.