Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward, 'We gotta be ready to play from day 1'
Known for his leadership qualities and work ethic on top of his athletic prowess, Ward has been everything and more than what the Tennessee Titans expected when they selected him with the first overall pick in April. Ward has come into Nashville and won over both the locker room and the organization with his infectious attitude.
This isn't just coming from the local media or those that cover the Titans on a daily basis; it has become clear to national NFL insiders as well, with the latest being Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network.
As Jeremiah points out, Ward gets into the facility early, before the coaching staff. While this isn't anything new, as it was reported back in June during minicamp, some new details on how this film will work did come out during an interview with Ward for the network.
Ward is not alone in his extra work at 5:30. He is usually joined by a group of receivers led by Calvin Ridley, which includes Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, and Xavier Restrepo, in an attempt to play his best football and have the offense on track early in the season. With Ward and his group of young receivers putting in the extra work, it is easy to see why they have been one of the more exciting units to watch early in training camp.
The interview also highlights the increased leadership role Ridley is assuming this offseason, a trend that has been emerging more frequently during player interviews. That dedication bodes well for the Titans' offense, which is looking to surprise teams in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward, 'We gotta be ready to play from day 1'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Jen Pawol will be MLB's first female umpire. Here are other women who broke officiating barriers
This weekend, Jen Pawol will make history by becoming the first woman to umpire a Major League Baseball game. She's set to work the series between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. The 48-year-old from New Jersey has worked spring training games over the last two years and in the minors since 2016. Here's a look at other female officials who were the first on the floor, court or the field in prominent men's leagues. NFL Shannon Eastin became the first female official in NFL history when she was a line judge during a preseason game in August 2012 between the Green Bay Packers and the Chargers, who were then in San Diego. A month later, she became the first woman to be an official in an NFL regular-season game when she worked as the line judge in the Rams-Lions game. Eastin was among the replacement officials hired by the league during a lockout of the regular officials. The first woman to get a full-season job was Sarah Thomas, who was a line judge in 2015. Thomas also became the first woman to work a Super Bowl when she was part of the seven-person crew on Feb. 7, 2021, when Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. Thomas was already the first woman to officiate a major college football game — and to work a bowl game. NBA Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner were hired by the National Basketball Association for the 1997 season. Palmer made her NBA debut on Oct. 31, 1997, when she was on the floor for the season opener between the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks. Palmer worked that night with Bill Oakes and Mark Wunderlich. Kantner's first game was Nov. 5, 1997, when Atlanta beat Philadelphia 93-88. Kantner worked alongside Ron Garretson and Ed Middleton. Palmer retired in 2016, and Kantner is still officiating women's NCAA basketball. NHL The NHL has yet to have a female on-ice official for a regular season or Stanley Cup playoff game. In the mid-1990s, Heather McDaniel received some national attention for officiating men's minor league games for the Central Hockey League and West Coast Hockey League. Two decades later, the NHL selected four female officials to work on the ice at the 2019 prospect tournaments. Katie Guay and Kelly Cooke served as referees, while Kirsten Welsh and Kendall Hanley worked as linesmen. It marked the first time women have officiated at the pre-training camp prospects tournament level. There was a subtle change made before the 2023-24 season when 'linesmen' became 'linespersons,' with women in the American Hockey League working their way up. Men's World Cup French referee Stéphanie Frappart made history in 2022 by becoming the first woman to be in charge of a men's World Cup match. The game between Germany at Costa Rica was held in Al Khor, Qatar. Working the game with Frappart were two female assistants — Neuza Back of Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico. Men's NCAA tournament Melanie Davis was the first woman to officiate a Division I NCAA men's tournament game when she was on the floor for a first-round matchup between San Diego State and Illinois on March 15, 2002. Leading into the historical game, Davis had officiated men's contests in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. ___ AP MLB:


USA Today
3 minutes ago
- USA Today
ESPN, NFL fantasy football to merge: What it means for your league
ESPN announced Tuesday it had agreed to acquire numerous media assets from the NFL in a landmark agreement. Most notably, ESPN acquired NFL Network and the league's ever-popular RedZone channel, which shows every touchdown from every game, as part of the deal. The NFL will acquire a 10% equity stake in ESPN as part of the deal. ESPN has also acquired the NFL's fantasy football product, making NFL Fantasy a part of ESPN Fantasy Football. What will that mean for fantasy football managers? Here's what we know about that element of the merger as the 2025 NFL season approaches. How ESPN, NFL fantasy football merger will impact leagues ESPN announced it was planning to "merge [the NFL's fantasy product] into its existing platform" after acquiring it from the NFL. That means all NFL Fantasy leagues will eventually be a part of the ESPN Fantasy Football app, and ESPN Fantasy Football will be the official game of the NFL. A timetable for the app merger has not yet been finalized. That said, it seems unlikely to happen before the 2025 NFL season, as the agreements between ESPN and the NFL are subject to approval from both government regulators and NFL owners. Such a delay would allow those using the NFL Fantasy App to continue doing so in 2025. ESPN did not immediately respond to USA TODAY Sports' request for more details about the pending merger of the two products. It's worth noting ESPN changed the interface of its fantasy app on Monday, Aug. 4, one day before the agreement with the NFL was announced. ESPN outlined the changes made to the app for the 2025 fantasy football season, "will provide improved roster management options and a more personalized experience tailored to your teams and leagues." It's unclear whether the pending merger was part of the impetus for the changes, nor is it clear whether the upgrades will facilitate ESPN's eventual integration of the NFL Fantasy App's data into its product.


USA Today
3 minutes ago
- USA Today
Hunter Ensley scheduled to make professional baseball debut
Hunter Ensley concluded his collegiate career with Tennessee baseball in June. The former Vol is scheduled to make his professional debut Wednesday with the Quad Cities River Bandits. Quad Cities competes in the Midwest League and is a High-A affiliate of the Royals. 'Former Vol baseball outfielder Hunter Ensley has been added to our roster and is scheduled to make his pro debut tonight,' Quad Cities announced. The River Bandits will host Beloit at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Ensley signed with Kansas City after not being selected in the 2025 MLB draft. He played for the Vols from 2021-25 and appeared in 205 games, including 174 starts. The right-handed outfielder recorded a .303 batting average, 202 hits, 41 doubles, 29 home runs, 141 RBIs, 133 runs, 85 walks, 17 stolen bases, a .992 fielding percentage and was hit by 26 pitches at Tennessee. Ensley won a 2024 national championship, two SEC Tournament titles (2022, 2024), two SEC regular-season championships (2022, 2024) and three College World Series appearances (2021, 2023-24) during his career with the Vols. More: Tennessee Vols 2025 MLB draft tracker Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).