NASHVILLE (AP) — JC Latham is being counted upon to be one of the key parts of the Tennessee Titans rebuilt offensive line this upcoming season.
After allowing 64 sacks last season, the Titans drafted Latham No. 7 overall, and he is one of four new starters on the Tennessee line, making the switch from right tackle in college to left tackle in the NFL.
The rookie first-round pick from Alabama has been busy getting plenty of on-the-job training courtesy of Titans pass rushers such as Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry and Arden Key throughout his first NFL training camp.
Since the pads went on in camp nearly a week ago, Latham has started to hold his own and engage well at the point of attack. He gave an indication of that in the first padded team drill of camp, engaging Simmons in a shoving match. Latham said he's using the reps against Simmons and others to prepare him for his first NFL season.
"It's two alpha dogs just competing. He's the best defensive tackle in the game, so every day I'm just going to use that to sharpen my game going against him every single day. It might get chippy but at the end of the day, it is what it is," Latham said.
Beyond just learning how to compete against top pass rushers, Latham is concerned about learning the nuances of offensive line play, which he says are much more detailed than even what he ran at Alabama.
"I feel like the one thing I really want to work on is just seeing the whole field. There are lot more intangibles than in college. You have to focus on the cadence. There are so many different cadences. You've got to pay attention to the defense. Every play as a set rule depending up on what the defense is in. So you've got to understand every single play down to the minute details and then your get-off and technique that goes with it," Latham said.
Offensive line coach Bill Callahan said the Titans are intentionally throwing a lot at Latham to get him ready for the Sept. 8 season opener in Chicago.
"We're trying to give him as much exposure as we can and accelerate his process. He's doing well. It's taxing mentally to absorb content of all the installations and all the techniques and protections that go hand in hand. But by and large, he's done a pretty decent job," Callahan said.
NOTES: Head coach Brian Callahan called Sunday's padded practice a good back and forth between the offense and defense. "That was good. That felt like training camp today for the first time," he said. "Fourth day in pads and the back-to-back practices, you kind of felt the back and forth. I thought the defense came out with a lot of good energy and tempo today. They kind of got us in that first team red zone period offensively, and I was kind of curious as to how we would respond after being tired and being on the losing end of a period. But they came back and answered the next red zone period with a really nice performance." The offense was sluggish on the first-team series as running back Tony Pollard was stuffed on two run plays. As Callahan noted, Will Levis and the offense were much sharper in a red zone team period, throwing nice completions to Pollard, Tyjae Spears and Tyler Boyd in that series. Backup QB Mason Rudolph had a strong day, connecting several times with receivers Mason Kinsey and Kyle Philips in second-team work. ... Several players remained out of practice as veteran defensive backs L'Jarius Sneed and Jamal Adams did not participate. Cornerback Caleb Farley was kept out because of hamstring tightness, and Chidobe Awuzie continues to miss time with a calf issue. Cornerback Anthony Kendall was running on a side field but out of practice again. Receiver Tre'Shaun Harrison remains out with a foot injury. Guard Saahdiq Charles was absent a second straight day for personal reasons.
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