Tough Titan: Durand focused on making team

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Rookie guard Ryan Durand is wearing his Tennessee Titans garb with pride.

But his dad, a diehard New England Patriots fan, won't put on the Titans' team colors -- at least for now.

"My dad's got some stuff but he refuses to wear it until I make the team," Durand said. "He doesn't want to jinx me."

Durand's still got a long way to go in order to truly call himself a Titan, but so far so good.

"I'm going out there and showing them what I can do and I try to get better every day," said the hard-working Durand, who was drafted in the 7th round. "You have to be confident at all times, it's a huge part of football. You have to be confident in your abilities."

Durand, who wore jersey No. 75 in high school at St. Bernard's in Fitchburg and Syracuse University, is now wearing No. 77 in Tennessee.

"Seventy-seven is cool," he said. "It's definitely the least of my concerns."

Currently, Durand and the rest of the Titans are going through typical workouts -- 7:30 a.m. in weight room, 9:30 a.m. team running, then karate or yoga and finish with various meetings -- before Organized Team Activities (OTAs) begin on Tuesday for two more weeks. OTAs are on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 

"It's not that bad, it's basically typical summer conditioning for football," Durand said. "It's pretty much what I'm used to."

It's also a nice little break from the grind of full-contact football.

"They try to get less contact in the NFL," Durand said. "There's a time and a place for hitting -- in college we used to bang a lot. Here, they try to save your body; I think it's smart."

After those two weeks of OTAs, Durand will be back home for four weeks, before reporting back to Tennessee on July 30 for the start of official training camp on July 31.

"It's not 24/7, I was up at 6:30 and we're done at 2," he said. "We have the afternoons to ourself."

Durand has spent some of his off time "cruising around Nashville" and studies up on his playbook for at least 30-45 minutes per day.

"I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp of the playbook," Durand said. "It has come pretty easy to me."

The only news on television concerning the Titans is about who will be the starting quarterback -- athletic youngster Vince Young or veteran Kerry Collins.

So who will start this season?

"I don't worry about that, I'm worrying about me," Durand said. "They'll make the right decision."

Durand's just concerned on working hard and giving himself the best shot possible to officially call himself a Tennessee Titan.