TAMPA BAY, Fla. — He wore neither bling nor bold colors the night the Bucs drafted him. Instead, University of Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell opted for a white robe, a Muslim symbol of positivity and purity.

On a night his name drew national attention, the attire might have been dismissed as a superficial gesture of faith, but Braswell had long since quelled any such skepticism. For years, this 255-pound package of burst and brute strength had worn his Muslim faith on his sleeve and soul, had refused to compromise it for secular joy or even job interviews.

When Alabama held its pro day in late March, Braswell was fasting in observance of Ramadan and would put no food in his body until that evening.

He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds.

“(Ramadan) is one of the pillars of Islam and that’s a good way to cleanse your body, good mental discipline,” he said.

Long before being recruited by Nick Saban, Braswell — picked 57th overall by the Bucs in late May — already was betrothed to a process. As a result, the Bucs have a rookie with a high ceiling, and higher level of conviction.

“I don’t eat pork, I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke,” he said.

Yet quarterbacks remain a shameless indulgence. The second guy selected by the Bucs in what coach Todd Bowles has deemed one of the team’s “smarter” draft classes, Braswell was drafted based on his breakthrough 2023 season at Alabama.

An outlier of sorts who waited his turn in a deep edge rusher room instead of transferring, Braswell made only two starts over the last two seasons. Yet he played in every game in that span, ranking second on the 2023 team with eight sacks while totaling 42 tackles, blocking a field goal and returning an interception 28 yards for a touchdown against Mississippi State.

All in a system with the same base look (3-4) and tendencies as Bowles’.

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