Stovall seizes opportunity
Joanne Korth, The St.Petersburg Times, published 29 October 2007

In a somber Bucs locker room, player after player talked about missed opportunities. Passes thrown a yard too far. Balls that bounced off receivers' hands. Not Maurice Stovall.

He had waited too long for an opportunity like the one he had Sunday, and he wasn't about to waste it. Elevated to the No. 3 receiver on offense because of an ankle injury to Michael Clayton, Stovall was all over the field and the stat sheet. Five catches, 47 yards. A kickoff return. A deflected punt. A downed punt. Even a miscellaneous tackle.

"I've been waiting since last year," said Stovall, a third-round pick by the Bucs in 2006. "Not an opportunity as far as somebody getting hurt and my stepping up, but just the opportunity to play and help my team out as much as possible.

"I know NFL stands for 'Not For Long.' You very seldom get an opportunity, whether it's two years down the line, four years or your rookie year. When you do get small windows, you have to capitalize on them."

Expected before the season to compete for the No. 2 receiver spot, Stovall made a splash during the offseason and early in training camp. Coach Jon Gruden seemed excited about the possibilities of having a 6-foot-5, 220-pound receiver. But when the regular season started in Seattle, Stovall had slipped to fourth on the depth chart behind Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard and Clayton. "I wasn't looking for any answers, and I don't have any excuses," Stovall said.

All he needed was a chance. "It's just like the situation I've been fortunate enough to be in, to be a starter," Hilliard said. "If Mo would have been the starter, he would have made those plays. You never know what kind of ballplayer he's going to be. He just needs more opportunities."

Against the Jaguars, Stovall had catches of 11, 4, 10, 13 and 9 yards, setting career highs for receptions and yards in a game. Playing in the two-minute offense at the end of the first half, he had consecutive receptions for first downs to kick-start a drive that resulted in a 22-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. But playing a bigger role in the offense did not relieve Stovall of special teams duties. He plays on nearly every unit and was hard to miss.

Late in the third quarter, with the Jaguars punting from their 10-yard line, Stovall rushed from the left edge and got a hand on Adam Podlesh's punt, which went only 20 yards. It was the team's first block of the season, and the Bucs turned great field position into a 42-yard field goal by Bryant for a 23-17 lead. He fielded a short kickoff and returned it 22 yards, and he downed a Josh Bidwell punt at the Jaguars 3.

Not everything Stovall did was positive. His holding penalty in the third quarter negated a 10-yard catch by Hilliard. And he was credited with the tackle on the Bucs' final offensive play, a fourth-down pass intercepted by safety Reggie Nelson.

"Any time you're playing football, it's part of the game to have ups and downs," Stovall said. "It's all about how you respond to it. If you make a big play, you can't get all excited. Same thing if you drop a ball or have a penalty called on you. You have to keep an even keel."