Luke Goedeke’s mic’d up segment shows the fun, fury of the Bucs tackle

TAMPA — Luke Goedeke is not just letting his play do the talking this season. His move from left guard back to right tackle has been seamless, but not soundless.

The second-year pro was mic’d up for the Bucs’ win over the Jaguars last Sunday. It did not disappoint. Not only did he quote The Waterboy, Adam Sandler’s 1998 comedy, he actually poured some H20 into the real waterboy’s mouth.

“Good form, eh? Hey, Bobby Boucher was my idol growing up,” said Goedeke, referring to Sandler’s Waterboy character.

On the field, Goedeke doesn’t “have what they call, the social skills.”

“Where’s the smellies? C’mon. Oooh!” Goedeke exclaimed versus Jacksonville after taking a big whiff of smelling salts. “Peppermint? It’s over! ... I didn’t know they made Christmas-themed smellies now.”

Goedeke was asked Thursday if he was surprised by the segment that aired on NFL Network.

“Not really, because that’s how I always am on the field,” he said. “If you ask any of the other guys, I’m always talking. I’m always saying these things. The whole mic’d up part, that’s who I am every game. They just happened to mic me up that game.”

There may not be a more improved player on the Bucs offense than Goedeke. Tristan Wirfs’ move from right to left tackle enabled him to return to the position he played at Central Michigan and Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

He’s the 24th-ranked offensive tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus with an overall grade of 72.2.

If they had a ranking for provocateur, he’d be in the league’s top 10.

“I definitely try to get under guys’ skin and everything,” Goedeke said proudly. “At the end of the day, it gets me going as well, it’s fun, it’s all part of the game, and everything. I’m out there with my brothers, we’re out there battling, it all just adds to the experience and the fun of the game.”

Take last Sunday’s game. Goedeke was pushing around Jaguars linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson after the whistle. “What did you do that for?” Chaisson asked after the play.

“Because I wanted to,” Goedeke responded.

Chaisson pushed Goedeke and then it was on. “No, you’re not going to do that!” the tackle said. “You’re not going to do that. Look at you backing up. Look at you backing up 4-5. You don’t want this!”

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had to intervene to get Goedeke back to the huddle and avoid a penalty.

“He tries to calm me down sometimes,” Goedeke said of Mayfield. “He kind of tries to hold me back. But I kind of know where his threshold is. I’ve never taken it too far and I don’t plan to.”

But quoting a line from The Waterboy, Goedeke said, “Captain Insano shows no mercy.”

Later in the game, when the Bucs were up 30-0 on the Jags, Goedeke didn’t like the chirping he was hearing.

“I’m going to wipe your nose!” he screamed in Chaisson’s direction. “Yeah! Yeah! What’s the score? Check the scoreboard!”

Off the field, Goedeke is also Luke the Lifter. The 6-foot-6, 313-pounder has epic weight training sessions with Wirfs.

“They’re pretty spectacular, to say the least, when me and him get into the weight room,” Goedeke said. “We really push each other to see who’s the stronger man in the weight room. It’s a fun time. It does go back and forth often. Day to day. If someone is stronger than the other that day we’ll talk about it. We’ll chirp in each other’s ear.

“This past year, in the squat we were at 565 (pounds) but for speed. We weren’t joking around. Like not just a single rep. We were doing multiple reps at a fast pace.”

He wasn’t joking around with the Jaguars either, but the Bucs had the last laugh.

“It was seven minutes of pure fun to watch that,” offensive coordinator Dave Canales said. “(Bucs) fans, if you haven’t had a chance to watch that, please check it out. I think it’s great for our attitude and who we want to be. It’s about toughness, this game.

“At the end of the day, it’s about these one-on-one matchups. You see a guy who, from Snap 1 until the end, all the way through, he’s challenging the guys across from him. I think he liked being mic’d up a little bit, too. There’s a little showmanship in there that I didn’t know he had. It was pretty cool to see.”

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