 I have put on some weight. It's more about just being in good shape, less important to weight and more about just being strong and in good shape and healthy. How do you approach the off-season, knowing that this is a good opportunity for you to nail down a starting spot? Yeah, I'm just taking it day by day and enjoying the process and loving what I do and trying to put everything I have into it to continue to gain the respect of my coaches, my teammates, the community and just be thankful for my opportunity. Where are you as far as the mental standpoint, as far as the confidence and the need to be able to cut and plan on it? I'm extremely confident. I'm always confident and I'm mentally better than I've ever been. Do you have to fight it all though? The YB or why does this keep happening when it happened two years ago? Yeah, I have thoughts like that. You know, trials and tribulations come in many different forms but I have a strong faith. I have a good close circle too that I lean on and that helps me get through a lot. I'm in a good mental space right now. How did you get over it? Just leaning on my faith and keeping my family close, my circle and just enjoying being around my teammates and the facility, being a part of something bigger than myself. And is there a motivation now to finally be able to show exactly what you can do out here? Absolutely. I mean, I'm a competitor. I've always been a competitor. Anything I've said I wanted to do, I still want to do and I want to win and I want to dominate. So that's my mentality. You only had to do competitive level field when they bring Roger McCrary in here, you know, another high draft pick. I had to do the competition for you and I guess for everybody? Yeah, well, you know, it's not about draft picks. We compete every day with everybody in the world for these spots. So it's not about that. You know, Roger's my brother and we all are part of the same close-knit group and we got to prepare for it with each other to go out there and stop offenses and things like that. So I'm competitive because of me and my mentality, not because of moves or decisions made above me. Where you are now? How do you build confidence maybe during the offseason as you try to come back from the injury as that process goes? Just repetition, knowing what to do, trusting it and, you know, experience. So there's really no other way to build confidence other than just being prepared. You expect me to have hot days like this? It's a good day to suffer. You had to obviously get over the needle last season. We just talked to Caleb Farley who was kind of dealing with that. I mean, have you talked to him? Has he picked your brain? Usually when I see Caleb, I tell him to go get rehab. He's usually doing jaw sets in the locker room. I'm like, hey, go get rehab, but he's very, seems like he's been very consistent trainers who I've talked to. They are all like, yeah, it looks great. Your kid looks awesome, but I don't play corner and I don't have no idea how that process goes or anything like that. Every situation is different for me. It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Hopefully it's not as difficult for him. Taylor, how would you describe the spring approach around here in terms of maybe some teams that are a little bit more like culture, big picture, getting shape? So maybe a little bit more install. How would you describe what you guys do? I would say it's definitely changed over my career. When I first got here with Wiz and Malarki a little bit, these team peers were, you're going. It's like, yeah, pads on and you know, if Rable's taking the approach, it seems like we're going to focus on that the details know what to do and move fast and get some speed in here. But making sure that guys are staying healthy. I mean, obviously we overcame a lot last year in injuries and I know that's everyone's goals to stay healthier this year. So yeah, I think it's I like this the most. This is nice because you get out, you're breathing hard, you're hurting a little bit, but you're working your technique and the focus is really on knowing what to do and being fast. Do you guys have any input, Taylor? Oh, two for one. Okay. You guys have input. Did they come to you at all for input going in? They might go to you guys. I know. Me, no. I think Rable's number one phrase for me is you be the player, I'll be the coach when he talks to me. So I play left tackle, been doing it for a while. It's a hell of a job and I'm going to keep doing it. So that's an idea. Couple of coaches. Go ahead. What you got? I got nothing now. Couple of coaches have said like Dylan is kind of focusing mainly now on right tackle. How much do you think that helps him and maybe also the line in general? I think that's a perfect question as Dylan because I don't know. I mean, you put me at right tackle, garbage. You put me at right guard, garbage. You put me at center, absolute garbage. Like I literally can play left tackle and that's it. But maybe just one position. I guess is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, it's I mean, I think it's common sense to know that the more you focus on one thing, the easier it's going to be on that one thing. We have to spread your mind across four or five positions. It's a very difficult thing to do. His position last year, I played for the six games my rookie year. It's like that swing tackle. You got to be ready to go on both sides, play some tight end here and there. It's not a fun position to be in because you're cold the whole game. You got to be focused. You obviously feel more comfortable at one position than the other and it just it's just not fun. So happy for him. Whatever the coaches say, that's what they're probably doing. What have you been your early impressions in Nick Petit for how he's kind of come along? I mean, it seems like he's figuring it out. This is a very unique offense from college to the NFL, the way we run block, the way we do certain things. It's very different. So there's definitely a learning curve there. But I think he's steadily gotten better every single, every single day, every single day comes in. Now when the installs happen, things pile up. It's tough for everybody. I was joking with joking with him saying I didn't understand our offense until like halfway through like week eight of my rookie year. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I was just out there chasing dogs, you know, for a while. So he'll get it. It's a work in progress. You really can't evaluate offense linemen until the pads are on. I mean, yeah, like you just said, it's nice to focus on one position, but we're still going through the process. I'm sure I'll get some guard work here and there. I'm working along the lines. But yeah, as of for now, it feels good to be able to focus on one position. Just hone my skills in on that. I mean, as a competitor, obviously, but we're going to, like I said before, the top five who earn it are going to play. So hopefully, I mean, obviously I'm a competitor. I'm going to try and earn it. So yeah, I mean, if I earn it, I think I should for sure. What's the biggest thing or two? Oh, sorry. I mean, it's good for the team. I mean, he's a great player. He's great athletically. And I think just like I'm saying along that theme of earning it, he's going to push me. I'm going to push him whoever ends up starting at right tackle, whether it's not even either one of us to whoever gets there is going to earn it. And him being just such a great athlete and drafting him, that's going to help us push each other and make those starting five better than they already are. What's the biggest thing or two that's different about you this time than last year? Just all that experience underneath my belt. I mean, it's not like rookie, all the newness and stuff like getting in a new city, trying to figure out the team, trying to figure out the scheme. I mean, the schemes are a little bit different going from North Dakota to here and stuff like that. So just figuring that out and getting that all that comfortability underneath my belt. I think it's huge going into this. You can focus a little bit more on all the finer details. Have you done anything in terms of like putting on any weight or sculpting your body differently? I mean, yeah, obviously as athletes, we're trying to make our body a little bit better. Trying to get heavier as offensive linemen. I mean, I know I'm a light tackle considered around the other guys in the league. So yeah, put on a few pounds here and there, try to sculpt a little bit, hit training hard this off season. So yeah, as athletes, I mean, where I was trying to do that. Why are you not? What were you told last year when you were deactivated for games? What were you told you were lacking? I mean, it's just all about just trying to fit into the scheme here at the time. Other guys had earned it better than me at times. The other guys were more qualified for the job. Like I said, there's just a few things here and there that I needed to work on to get better at. And I feel like I've honed in on those skills. And yeah, we'll see this year if I can now not be that inactive guy and be the guy who earns that spot. Just like I said, getting all those little things underneath my belt. Being able to hone in on the skills that the coaches need me to be honed in on. Like I said, it was a little bit different going from North Dakota State to here. So being able to hone in on those skills that the coaches needed me to be honed in on in order to start. What are some of those skills without giving away huge game plans? Yeah, a lot of just physically, just learning my body, the balance, how we run off the ball here, stuff like that. Just being able to make my body go into new movements and stuff that I wasn't quite used to. I think was huge and then obviously switching sides. I mean, it's like you're left-handed, then you go right-handed, stuff like that. So just being able to do that, I think physically just getting my body used to those new positions. You didn't play very much your last year in order to get saved. And last year, the struggle is kind of getting a little bit better. You said, is part of it for you right now just a piece that you can go out here and be a starter in the sleep? Right now, I wouldn't say that. I'd say the belief like, I know I have to go and earn it, but I bottom line, you always have to believe in yourself as a competitor. Otherwise, you probably won't get too far. So yeah, belief right now, I believe I can go out there and do it. Last year, there was a lot of woes and stuff. I wouldn't say that I didn't believe, but I'd say it was definitely harder to believe last year. But this year for sure, I definitely believe in myself. Younger guys like Briley and Shig as well in there and Thomas. So I mean, it's a good mix of younger guys and more veteran players. Luke creates and Tim create a great atmosphere for the tight end room for learning and just, you know, we have fun in there. We get our work done. We also have fun. So it's always great when you go to work and you can have a little bit of both, right? So I'm looking forward to it. What has it been like working with Tim Kelly? How much does he help you guys out? It's awesome. I mean, being a coordinator in the league, just hearing how he sees the game and just give me ideas on how to run different routes and how to conceptualize different things. You know, other place I was coached to do it this way, then he'll give me an alternative idea. And it's just kind of like, wow, it just kind of opens up my mind on how to look at certain things within our offense. So I'm really appreciative for him being in the room and Luke's been awesome. So I mean, I can't say enough good things about those guys. Man, it's a lot of space. There's a lot of time and just got to go out and just take advantage of it. You know, got to go out and just be blessed to have the opportunity. And just by having that time, you get more chances and more opportunity to go out and learn a playbook, get the detail that you need to get in order to go out and perform and do your best. Between what you did last year and what you do now, I mean, what do you think you can be as an NFL running back and what are you trying to show them exactly? I just want to be me. It's called by my role, you know, to show the team that I can be that guy that they can depend on and trust and leave it all up to the coaches and the team. I know we aren't out here every day, but last week when we were out here, it seemed like the defense had a little bit of a hand. Towards the end of today, it seemed like the offense was making a ton of plays. Do you feel that pushback and sort of competitive nature? I mean, that's what you want. That's called a healthy team, you know what I mean? Because some days D might have it, some days off might have it. But every day we come out and fight, we come out and show each other love and that competitiveness and make us better. In any way, they need media to help. So I'm just looking forward to just carving out a role, taking advantage of the opportunity and just keep getting better day by day. Being a local guy, is it extra special being out here for the Titans putting that helmet on? What do you think? It was always special to put Tennessee across the chest, you know, being a former of all, you know, it's my second time getting to have Tennessee and represent the state. So exercising just to be back home and being close to family. Yeah, family fired up about that? They are. They are definitely. Thank you Matt. I appreciate it. Yeah, it's a lot of teaching, which is, you know, why you're here. You love to do it. I love that part of it. And Malik's been a great student. Yeah, it's daily, you know, really it's retaining information, you know, you're asked to retain a lot of new content every day. And Malik's done a good job of that and then it's just the application of it and it's a daily process. Ryan's, he's always been driven like that. He is ultra competitive. I have a ton of respect for that guy on so many levels. And I love the way he works. It's a pleasure to work with him. And so it's really been the same. Yeah, he's, oh yeah. Yeah, Malik's, you know, he's a, he retains information really well. He's a bright guy. And we noticed that in pre-draft and felt like he'd be a fit. And it's been good. It's a good dynamic in there. It's been really good. All three of those guys, they're great guys. Really, really enjoyed being around them. What makes Malik unique? First of all, as you guys get to know him, a great person, like really solid, good person and hard worker, retains information well, athletic, you know, huge arm. And there's a lot of skills there to, you know, work to enhance. Is it almost like a ground up approach with somebody like that when he's coming in from the system? Yeah, you know, a lot of young quarterbacks when they come in, you really have to teach the operation. It's what we call the operation. And the operation is really everything you do before you even touch the football. It's a huddle. It's a play call. It's a cadence at the line of scrimmage. It's under center. It's getting us into the right play at the line of scrimmage. It shifts. It's motions. And there's an operation that has to take place and during a play clock, 40 second play clock. So there's tasks and those tasks are all part of the operation. And each day that's improving. It's really been good. And, you know, we just keep moving forward one day at a time. Is this exactly what Logan responded to at the additional competition? Same. He always does. Logan's awesome. He's been real helpful to Malik. He just comes in every day prepared and ready to go. It's really nothing new for Logan. He's had to do that ever since he's been here. I think it's almost like my fifth year kind of being around Logan. So nothing changes for him. Yeah. So we, you know, in the afternoons, we're really focused on the rookies after the veterans kind of take off during this process of OTAs. And so we get a lot of individual time. And so you just balance it, you know, each one of those guys is at different levels in their career. And so you have to have a plan of, you know, layering teaching on one end and then advanced teaching sort of second semester. I joke around with a guy that we're second semester here and first semester over there. So it's kind of where we're at. A true pro, pretty tough, smart, all the things you want and why I receive what he has. So, and he's progressing well, working hard in the training room, doing everything he has to do to get back out here. So I'm excited to, I'm excited that he's here and can't wait to get back out on the field. How are you attacking like that process of bringing Traylin in and getting him acclimated and getting him good to go? A lot of different ways, man. Traylin's worked hard, comes in early in the morning, board work, walkthroughs, everything you could think of. Mobile club, we do, it's a lot of different things to try and shorten the learning curve and get them caught up to speed. A lot of focus on the negative with them, you know, just the problems he had starting off. What are some of the positives that you've been able to gather? Yeah, that's unfortunate, you know, some of those things that happened were kind of out of his control. Just, you know, the kid has got asthma, you know what I mean? Those things, you know, happen. But, you know, in regards to, he understands what the expectations are, but I think at the end of the day is really him getting himself immersed in the culture of how we do things here, how we play here, which is different from every player that comes in here from college because we ask these guys to do things that a lot of teams don't ask them to do. So there are some things that you like that you've seen? Oh, yeah, I'm excited about Traylin and what he's going to be able to bring to this football team. He just has to get himself healthy and be able to show everybody out here on the field, you know, what he's capable of. What are your expectations for Traylin from week one? Week one? To be a contributor. You don't want to put the pressure on him of saying he's going to be a starter and all those things, but I expect him to be a contributor. Rob, I'm sorry, I'm a starter, but what is it like trying to get players coming in to understand the way you want to do things, the way you want to do things right here and it may be different than how they've done in the past? Well, it's a process, you know, I think, you know, and throughout that process we're fortunate enough to have a bunch of veterans that understand the culture and these guys understand when they get here they have to fit into that culture and they learn pretty quickly what the expectations are and how to immerse themselves in that. What's his attitude been like as far as willingness to learn and get better? It's been great. It has. It's been great. You know, I think at the end of the day he's doing everything he can to make sure he shortens that learning curve and to be available for this team. With the play like Cal Phillips, what do you like about the skill set that he brings to the group? Really good shorted quickness. I got a good football IQ, understands how to fit in the zones and all those nuanced things that the field that comes with the game, he seems to have a good natural field for that. Nick Westbrook Akina has been here now for a while. How much do you need him to kind of step up and be one of the leaders of that room and be one of your more productive guys while you're trying to get rookies ready to go? I think Nick's done a great job of doing just that. You know, he's stepped up. He's out here every day working hard. Nick's going to be more of a leader that does it by example. And I think he's off to a great start. Absolutely. Anytime you want to feel right, we know the repetition is the mother of all learning. So the more reps that all the other guys that are here get, obviously the better they're going to get. And so they're here taking advantage of the opportunities that they have and they're all doing a great job with it. That said, how important is it to have a leader like Derek Henry, you know, eventually getting back out here and hoping for room and mentor these young guys? How important is it that maybe eventually he does come here and shift to that leadership role? Well, he'll do that. That's who he is as a person. Derek obviously is a great team player, a great teammate. So when he does get here, he'll take pride in helping those guys learn or giving them any kind of tips or anything that he thinks can make them better. Because at the end of the day, we're all one group. And as we saw last year, things happen and when a guy's out, the next guy has to step up. And so if we want to win, which is the ultimate goal for all of us as a team and an organization, then all the guys across the team are willing to step in and help each of these guys learn in their respective positions that ultimately help us as a team. No, Hassan is Hassan. Hassan is Hassan. He's doing a great job being himself. So we'll continue to try to develop him in that way and then whatever he becomes, he becomes, but he'll still be Hassan. Well, everybody, all the guys that play in the group can learn to be a professional like Derek and then the work ethic that Derek puts in, if they want to learn something, then not only the physical work, but Derek also does a great job in the classroom portion of it from an assignment standpoint. So if they can learn those things, understand what it's like to be a great teammate, work ethic in the classroom and on the field, then whatever their natural abilities are, let that show for them individually. You know, it's a good group. Like you said, they're young. You know, we got Buster in there that's a really good vet that, you know, be a good leader and mentor for those guys and showing them the way. But Kristen has played a lot of football for us. Elijah came in last year, played a lot of football and Roger's come in here and put all the work in and done everything we've actually done. So we're excited about these guys and excited about the group. What are some of the things you like about McCreary already? I just like his attention to detail. He has a high care factor. The guy loves ball. He comes in. He'll put in extra time. He'll put in the work and he's been doing everything we've asked him to do and more and you can see it showing up and he's making daily improvements each day. It looked like the other day, like depth was a big thing with just how many guys kind of making plays on the football maybe that you wouldn't necessarily think of first coming to mind. What have you noticed from maybe some of the guys towards the bottom of the depth chart trying to earn spots, trying to make plays here early on? Well, you look at all those guys when they come out here and compete. We tell them when you're on the field taking reps, you're essentially a starter. We don't see you guys as backups because anybody that's been on our roster, you look at the last couple of years, we played a ton of guys. So at some point during the year, we're going to need those guys. So those guys been coming out here, Chris Jackson, Maven competing, doing a great job coming out and I've been pleased with what they've done thus far. Come in late but harder for Caleb mentally or physically after knowing that playing for a couple of years to kind of... He's been doing a good job from the mental standpoint and then been doing everything that the guys have been asking him to do physically. So it's been exciting to see his progress and where he is now and just continue to see him grow. So I'm excited about seeing him in camp. Yeah, I think it just gives him an opportunity to get comfortable and be in the same stance every day and see things from the same side of the ball every day and stuff like that. So that's always important but it's a luxury you don't usually have in this league until you've earned that starting job. You know, you only can dress seven or eight linemen so you have to be able to play multiple positions. But I think it's been beneficial for him. What does he need to do when the pass come on to kind of earn that job in camp? Yeah, I think, you know, for him, he's very analytical and he's just got to learn to cut it loose and trust his training and trust his ability and just kind of build that confidence to play fast. You know, he's very smart, very intelligent, very cerebral and it's just breaking through that wall of overthinking and having that slow you down. Without the pass on right now, what are you learning about how he's developing right now? Yeah, well without the pass, what's really fun for me watching him develop is him taking the stuff that he knows he has to work on and you can still see those improvements without the pads. Obviously, we're not full speed and all that type of stuff but you can see his footwork improve. You can see him run through a sticking point, what we call which is a specific thing in a certain block. So, you know, he's starting to get confident and play faster and kind of play free as opposed to sometimes slow and methodical. Was there one or two big things that kept him from being able to get in position to play more last year? Was it just a lot of accumulation? Yeah, you know, I just think it's a big jump for anybody and again, it was him building that confidence to play fast. So, I wouldn't say it was necessarily one thing as much as all those little things and being able to do it with speed, confidence and on a repeated basis. He's an energizer bunny. He came in, jumped in, fit right in with our group and has actually elevated some guys just from his energy and experience and anytime you could grab a guy like that along with the other guys that I've mentioned, I'm excited about this group. What did you think of, I guess we've seen some pictures online of Jeffrey being at Bon Miller's school. What can you pick up there? Are you excited to see that or would you rather see him here? I trust Jeff and it's good that he's working with Von. We had Von at Texas A&M when I was coaching there and that's a good place for him to kind of continue to hone his skills and there's some other guys there that we know too so it's a good deal for him now.