Business as usual: Mariani competes

The last few years, former Havre High and University of Montana star Marc Mariani would know exactly what to expect when fall training camp with the Montana Grizzlies began.

But after a full week of NFL training camp with the Tennessee Titans, Mariani seems to be making himself right at home — despite it being a brand new experience.

However, one thing Mariani has had to get used to is heat.

The first week of Titan's camp at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville has brought blazing hot temperatures with high humidity, and it's taken Mariani and other Titan's players time to get adjusted. The temps have been so high in fact, the Titan's moved Wednesday's practice under the lights and they went to their indoor practice facility on Thursday due to heat and severe thunderstorms in the area.

Another difference from college training camp to the NFL is the crowds.

Most NFL preseason practices are open to the public and NFL fans come out in droves to watch their favorite team go through the practice sessions. At Titan's practices, crowds have averaged up to 2,000 fans per day.

Factor in Mariani is playing on a team with such super stars as quarterback Vince Young and perhaps the NFL's best running back in Chris Johnson and things might seem overwhelming to the former three-sport star at HHS.

But it's not in Mariani's nature to be overwhelmed by any situation, and he seems to be taking it all in stride.

"It's going well," Mariani said earlier this week. "It's a different environment, to have the crowd and everything, it's definitely different than at Montana, but it's really cool.

"I'm just getting adjusted to the heat now," he added. "But I'm just under the mind-set that I'm trying to take advantage of every rep, every chance I get.

So every time we strap it, every time we walk in the doors, I'm just going out there to try and get better and try and earn a spot on this roster." And so far, Mariani is making the plays and taking advantage of the times his number has been called each day.

He's dazzled Titan's fans with his ability to make tough catches, his speed and moves which helps him separate from top-rated cornerbacks like Tennessee's highly touted Aletrraun Verner from UCLA, and most of all, his work ethic and competitiveness.

Being willing and able to compete is something that's always come natural to Mariani and despite the obvious differences from college football at Montana, or anywhere else for that matter, to the NFL, his competitive drive and his approach to the game of football hasn't changed.

"I've been just trying to go out and work my butt off," Mariani said.

"There's a room full of great players in the receiver room on this team and I'm just trying to earn a spot. So I just go out there and work hard every day and try to get better.

"That's what this game's all about, is competition," he added. "So if your not going out there and competing you might be in wrong profession, so that's my mind-set. I'm just going to compete every day, do what I can, control what I can control, make the plays when they come my way and hopefully everything will fall into place." So far so good too.

Although rookies don't get every rep in practice, Mariani has made the plays when they've come his way, whether its catching balls, including a leaping 45-yard grab from Chris Simms earlier this week, or blocking for the running backs and fellow receivers, or fielding kicks and punts, he's been impressive so far, and his ability to handle the transition to the NFL practices and his competitiveness is not lost on Titan's head coach Jeff Fisher.

"I don't think there is anybody out here that is overwhelmed right now," Fisher said in a press conference earlier this week. "Everybody is competing, Marc's a competitive guy, he's a good athlete." There's a long way to go before the Titan's break camp on Aug. 26, and there will be many plays before Mariani finds out if he's made the 53-man roster, but he's taking advantage of his NFL chance so far, and longtime Titan's fans are taking notice. Mariani has been a hot topic on Titan's message boards and with the Nashville and NFL bloggers.

And for now, Mariani will continue to try and take advantage of every opportunity he gets and try and get better as the first preseason game steadily approaches. The Titans play their first game Saturday night in Seattle.

"I'm just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get," Mariani said.

"Some days are more than others, but I'm just going to go out and try to compete every day and earn a job, earn a spot on this roster." Note: Local fans can follow Mariani's progress as he trys to make the Titan's roster every Friday in the Havre Daily News.