Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Ryan Durand is smacking helmets with the defense, studying his playbook inside and out and trying to do what is expected of him with the Tennessee Titans.
Yes, that's Training Camp at its finest, especially for a rookie 7th-round draft pick.
Durand, who played at Syracuse University, is right in the heat of the battle with the rest of the Titans in a long and grueling camp.
But the No. 1 goal is to stick with the big club.
That's Durand's only focus right now.
"My mindset is to go and practice as hard as I can," said Durand in a telephone interview late Wednesday night. "With the opportunities I get, I've got to show the coaches I have what it takes."
It's quite a long day -- every day -- when Training Camp starts. According to Durand, he wakes up around 7 a.m., he's in the weight room by 8 and it's all football for the rest of the day with various meetings, practices -- and lunch and dinner breaks in between -- and then the day ends around 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m.
"It's a lot of stuff, but it hasn't been that bad," said Durand, who is practicing at both left and right guard. "We do have four weeks left so they're not trying to dump the entire playbook on us right now."
Durand and rest of the Titans who have under four years of service in the league are mandated to stay in the team hotel in Nashville, which is two miles from the complex, for the entire camp.
So what does he do during his down time?
"I look at my playbook a little bit and I try to relax," Durand said. "I talk to family members, friends and my girlfriend."
Durand will get his first taste of the National Football League when the Titans play their first preseason game this Sunday at 8 p.m. on NBC against the Buffalo Bills in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
"It's going to be very neat," Durand said. "It'll probably be a breath of fresh air considering how intense our practices are."
Durand and the rest of the Titans will also visit the Hall of Fame, which will be inducting the 2009 class of Bob Hayes, Rod Woodson, Randall McDaniel, Bruce Smith, Derrick Thomas and Ralph Wilson on Saturday.
"I'm going to try to take it all in," said Durand about his visit inside the HOF. "I realize how special it is; It'll give me motivation, I guess."
Not that Durand needs any added motivation.
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