Antone Exum hopes his big plays will get him in conversation to start

Outside of a handful of snaps here and there during training camp, Antone Exum has not spent much time with the first-team defense this summer.

But if he keeps popping up near the football, perhaps that will change.

The second-year safety intercepted Buccaneers rookie quarterback Jameis Winston on Saturday night, his second takeaway in as many games.

On his big second-quarter play Saturday night, Exum was aligned as the last line of defense, stationed in the middle of the field 15 yards deep. At the snap, Exum sat tight and watched Winston lock on to top Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. When the quarterback cocked his arm to throw, Exum made his move and was there to pick off Winston's off-target throw.

Exum sprinted down the left sideline for 34 yards before Buccaneers back Bobby Rainey knocked him out of bounds at the Tampa 23-yard line.

"I was reading his eyes and he took me right to the ball and I was able to make a big play for the defense," said Exum, a 2014 sixth-round draft pick. "It flipped the field and put the offense in a position to score."

It will take more than a couple of big plays for Exum to overtake safety Robert Blanton. But that interception and his fumble recovery against the Steelers might convince the coaches to give him more first-team reps.

"I hope that it starts talk," Exum said. "I think that that's a big part of the game, being able to be around the ball. That's something that I pride myself in, being able to make that big play that can spark the game. Being around the ball and being able to come up with it, I feel like that's a quality I have."

The interception impressed coach Mike Zimmer, who recently remarked that Exum has grown up after he was one of the Vikings' rookies who "didn't really know how to act" last season. But Zimmer also made sure to point out that Exum whiffed when trying to tackle Rainey later in the game.

"He' active. He's active. He obviously made a nice play on the interception," Zimmer said. "He got down in there one time on a run, he was in good position [but] he didn't finish the tackle. Those are things he's going to have to improve on. Safeties have to be able to tackle. But he's a very good athlete and we just have to get him disciplined."

We'll see if Exum, who says he will continue to let his play do the talking, gets more first-team reps next to Harrison Smith in practice this week.

"That's not my call," Exum said. "I just go out there and play hard, give it my all and change the game. The coaches will decide who's on the field."