Buccaneers Camp Football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard participates in drills during rookie minicamp at the NFL team's practice facility in Tampa, Fla., on Friday, May 5, 2017.

(AP Photo)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft hit the practice field for the first time as a pro this weekend during the Bucs' rookie minicamp. But the most important early work, tight end O.J. Howard said, will come off the field.

The former Alabama standout joined Tampa Bay with the 19th choice in the 82nd NFL Draft on April 27.

Howard said the "reality" of being in the NFL hit him when he put on his No. 80 Tampa Bay jersey before practice. His first goal is to learn the playbook forward and backward so he can play fast.

"It requires studying every day just so you can learn it," Howard said. "Every day, you put more on it, so you've got to learn new things every day and remember what you learned yesterday. But so far it's not bad at all."

Howard said that part of his transition to the NFL has been made easier because the Buccaneers' playbook is a lot like Alabama's.

"Very similar -- just different names, different terminology," Howard said. "That's what makes it kind of easy right now because it's kind of the same offense we ran at Alabama. But like I said, every day you have to learn something new, so that will be the most difficult part, I think."

When Howard chose to attend Alabama out of Autauga Academy, it turned out he started easing his transition to the NFL, too.

"I think coach (Nick) Saban and his staff, they do a great job of getting us ready," Howard said. "Just the way we practice. He always tells us: 'This is how the NFL is, so you guys got to do it this way because it's going to be like this at the next level.' I think we're one of the programs that do it that way. There're a lot of other great programs that also do it that way. I think the programs like us that do it that way, their guys have really good success at the next level."

Howard's college choice also made a difference to the Buccaneers.

"Especially coming out of the program he did, he's a winner," Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said. "He's a great kid, and he can do everything we need a tight end to do."

The "great kid" part was important to Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht.

"The thing that stands out is you can't get anybody to say a negative thing about him," Licht said. "When we talk character, we want guys to be great off the field, positive members of the community. But most of the time we're talking about football character, and that's what he embodies. It's team first. Very passionate about the game. He loves it, and that's very important to us."

.@TheRealOjHoward with the slick grab at Rookie Mini-Camp Day 2! pic.twitter.com/8GZjsed2ZA — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 6, 2017

Howard was one of 56 players at Tampa Bay's rookie minicamp. The total included the Bucs' six draft choices, 14 rookies signed after the draft, four players with less than one season of NFL experience and 32 invited tryout players.

Howard wasn't the only Alabama player at Tampa Bay's rookie minicamp. Former Crimson Tide offensive lineman Korren Kirven is one of the undrafted players signed by the Bucs. Running back Blake Sims, a former Alabama quarterback, also participated after finishing the 2016 season on Tampa Bay's practice squad.

Howard gave the Tampa Bay media a scouting report on Kirven.

"He knows what it takes to be successful," Howard said. "He played at Alabama with me. Hard work - he knows how to do that. He knows how to compete. He knows how to go out there and block and play hard. I think if you know what to do when it comes to those things, you'll be fine."

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Howard, Kirven and Sims won't join the full Tampa Bay squad until May 15 for the final week of Phase 2 of the offseason program.

"All those guys that you have high hopes for, they've got to learn fast," Koetter said. "They have to get in the book and learn on the run. The way the rules are this year, after minicamp those guys are going to have to leave for a week. Then they'll just come back, they'll only be here for five weeks in the offseason program. That's a week shorter than last year, so it's definitely a steep learning curve."