Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has expressed his excitement at being part of the team's new defensive system for the 2014 season.

New coach Lovie Smith will resurrect the classic "Tampa 2" defence for the upcoming campaign, with McCoy being deployed in the same role as Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.

The two-time Pro Bowler revealed that he had spoken to Sapp about the system and was "excited" about it despite knowing that he will have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders in the under-tackle role.

"I talked to Sapp the other day, and I told him, 'I can see now why you loved this defence so much. I said, 'This is going to be fun,' and he said, 'Well, it's not going to be easy, because you have a lot of work ahead of you. You have a lot of responsibility as the under tackle,'" McCoy told the Tampa Tribune.

"What he meant was, this defence is going to run how I run, so I have a lot of responsibility. I'm going to see most of the one on ones. And when you depend on four guys to get to the quarterback the way we will and the under tackle is supposed to be the key guy, well, I have to get there. But I'm still excited about it."

McCoy is currently in negotiations with the Buccaneers over a new long-term deal as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.