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Ordinarily, when a team trades up in the second round to draft a player, that player’s roster spot is safe for at least a couple years. But Roberto Aguayo is no ordinary second-year player.

Aguayo, the kicker the Buccaneers drafted last season, had a terrible rookie year and will have to compete with veteran Nick Folk for the kicking job. He says he embraces that.

“It is motivation,” Aguayo told PewterReport.com. “When I was in college there would be walk-on kids come in and I didn’t know who they were or if they were good or whatever. But whoever they were, it was always a competition for me. Just seeing someone else out there trying to compete. I like it.”

Aguayo said he thinks both he and Folk will benefit from the pressure of a camp competition.

“I look at it like playing golf,” Aguayo said. “When you go out there playing by yourself you are playing to shoot par or shoot your best, but when you have someone else out there it’s like, ‘Well he hit a good shot so I want to hit a good shot.’ So it is good motivation for both of us and it is just going to make both of us better. And the better one will come out on top.”

The Bucs’ decision to draft Aguayo was widely criticized at the time and will be criticized even more if he can’t beat out Folk this summer. He sounds confident that he can vindicate the team’s faith in him.