by Rob Moseley, GoDucks.com
Photo courtesy Tennessee Titans

NASHVILLE — When Logan Anderson arrived at the Tennessee Titans' practice facility for the first workout of training camp Friday, he did so sporting a Marcus Mariota jersey that was only a few days old.

Anderson, a Kentucky native who has lived in Nashville the last few years, is a prudent guy. He waited on buying the jersey until Mariota actually signed his rookie contract, which took place a little over a week before the Titans opened practice at Saint Thomas Sports Park.

The friend by Anderson's side Friday, Richard Swor, is the more impulsive of the two. He also wore a No. 8 Mariota jersey, but his was purchased soon after the NFL draft this spring.

Anderson and Swor attended the start of training camp together, just as they watched the draft together, and celebrated the Titans' selection of Mariota with the No. 2 pick. “We were at my house, jumping up and down,” Swor recalled. “I think I punched a wall at one point, I was so excited.”

Anderson and Swor were among the estimated 1,300 fans who attended Friday's opening practice of training camp. Nearly three times that many were estimated to have been on hand Saturday, when Mariota signed autographs following practice.

The Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Oregon is the new face of the Titans' franchise, and a beacon of hope for a fanbase that watched the team go 2-14 last season. Expectations are higher though not out of hand for Mariota's rookie year — the general consensus is that five wins would make for a successful 2015 — but the dozens of Mariota jerseys on the sideline Friday reflected the faith of Titans fans in their new signal-caller.

“He's all over,” said Jesse Kellerman, a Junction City native who moved to Nashville two years ago and wore a yellow No. 8 Ducks jersey to Titans practice Friday. “Everybody's talking about him, and everybody's talking about the Titans. Last year you wouldn't hear much — other than that they weren't very good.”

Mariota is getting comfortable in his new home, as far away as it might be from his beloved home state of Hawaii. He found a Hawaiian barbecue spot he likes — “it's like 20 minutes away, but I've made the stop a few times” — and has appreciated the reception from Titans fans.

“It's feeling more and more like home,” Mariota said Friday. “It's crazy how far it is from the West Coast, and from Hawaii. But the people are great.”

Kellerman wasn't the only Oregonian in attendance Friday. Also watching practice was Eric Enright, a 2005 UO graduate and current Nashville resident who wore a green Oregon hat.

Enright's primary loyalty remains to the Ducks — he convinced the firm he works at to employ green and yellow in its logo — but Mariota's presence in Tennessee provides “a good excuse to be a Titans fan now.”

Enright said he's been “seeing more and more Duck stuff around Nashville, which is really cool.”
Living proof of that was provided by Lisa and Ronnie Cupp, two Knoxville natives who wore Oregon gear to Friday's Titans practice. They adopted the Ducks as their favorite team during the Darron Thomas era, and attended not only the 2010 game at Tennessee but the 2013 Alamo Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship last season.

The Cupps weren't big Titans fans, but that changed once Mariota was drafted. They immediately bought season tickets to see the team play in Nashville, which will require about a five-hour round trip on game days.

It will be worth it, the couple said, to cheer on Mariota in person. “He's just a classy guy,” Lisa Cupp said. “His sportsmanship is awesome.”

Ronnie Cupp agreed that expectations are reasonable for the Titans and Mariota this season. But he said fans can be fickle, and predicted Mariota will shoulder the pressure if the team's struggles continue much longer.

“I hope not,” Lisa Cupp said. “That's probably going to happen, though. But we'll be there at every game, hollering.”

Swor said optimism among Titans fans is fostered by more than Mariota's presence. He compared the franchise's rebuilding effort to that of the Seattle Seahawks, with a foundation of solid draft picks and prudent free-agent signings.

The team's first-round drafts picks the two years prior to Mariota's selection were used on offensive linemen, guard Chance Warmack and left tackle Taylor Lewan. This offseason the Titans added free-agent receiver Hakeem Nicks and drafted wideout Dorial Green-Beckham, who join a receiving corps that includes 2012 first-round draft pick Kendall Wright.

Anderson has doubts about the run game, and hopes rookie David Cobb can fuel a rushing attack led last year by Bishop Sankey, who was a rookie out of Washington in 2014. But if the offensive line can stay healthy and protect Mariota, there's hope the Titans can contend for a playoff spot as early as 2016.

“As long as they're improving,” Anderson said. “As long as it's positive. Positive yards are good yards.”