NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The stars don’t just come out at night in neon Nashville, they also show up in the heat of the summer morning — at Tennessee Titans football practice.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The stars don’t just come out at night in neon Nashville, they also show up in the heat of the summer morning — at Tennessee Titans football practice.
Like Thursday, for example, when word spread quickly through Saint Thomas Sports Park that some members of Little Big Town, six-time CMA vocal group of the year, had come to watch Marcus Mariota and the Titans.
This is “Music City” after all, and in a town of superstars, Mariota, however ah-shucks reluctant, is definitely one of them.
He is “Marcus” — no last name necessary. You see his visage on digital billboards and glimpse his hot-selling No. 8 jerseys all around the area. Stores sell Mariota plush dolls and Mariota bobblehead figures. And, yes, even what they call “Marcus flip-flops” (zori) here.
He is the front-and-center face of this NFL franchise — “our ambassador,” as Titans senior vice president Stuart Spears puts it — and, indeed, the hope for its present and its future.
Ask Mariota how such a low-key guy from Hawaii wound up a non-strumming, non-singing celebrity here, of all places, and he laughs and shrugs his shoulder pads.
But the marriage has been a beneficial one for both of them. The struggling franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs in eight seasons — or won a playoff game in 13 — needed a young, rising star to grab fans’ imaginations. And Mariota, not one for the bright lights other than those of the stadium, appreciates the comfortable fit of a smaller market.
The 2015 NFL Draft, in which he was the second overall pick, answered both needs. The Titans have a dynamic quarterback and the Saint Louis School graduate finds himself in a town not only filled with stars but a southern culture that largely respects their space.
“Nashville has been great, I love it,” Mariota said. “It still has a small-town feel to it, not like a big city. You know, I wasn’t sure what to expect (at first). It was far from home, far from the West Coast and I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. But the people here have been welcoming and friendly since the day I first arrived. I’m very grateful to be here and be a part of things.”
Folks here embrace his humility, family grounding and quiet confidence, team members say. “People respond to Marcus because he’s genuine,” said Taylor Lewan, Pro Bowl offensive tackle. “He doesn’t try to be something else other than who he really is.”
Jerry Qualls, athletic director for suburban Williamson County schools, met Mariota for the first time at a “Friday Night Lights” event this month where the Titans took one of their practices to Centennial High. “He was such a respectful and considerate young man that when he left here people were proud of having met him and proud not only to have him playing for the Titans but representing our entire state of Tennessee.”
TAKING VETERAN’S ADVICE
Mariota met former Titans running back Eddie George, a fellow Heisman Trophy winner, through a Nissan promotion and has taken to heart his advice.
“He said when you get this thing going and winning it will be something really special to be part of,” Mariota recalls. “He said this is a great sports town and they’ll go crazy when you win.”
Mariota and the Titans glimpsed some of it in the Predators’ run to the Stanley Cup Final this year as they stood wearing Predators’ jerseys and waving towels. “It opened our eyes,” wide receiver Harry Douglas acknowledged.
“We know what it could be like for us,” Lewan said.
Lewan says Mariota is the one who can lead them there.
Lewan, loud and brash, in some ways the antithesis of Mariota, swears by his quarterback. “We (his teammates) have his back because we know he’s all about the team and making us a winner. There’s not a better guy you want on your team.”
Lewan shrugged a big shoulder toward where the Carolina Panthers had been and said, “There were two (No. 1) quarterbacks out here on the field today, Marcus and the other guy (Cam Newton). Two very different ones. We like our guy.”
Newton had spent some of the shared practice jawing at fans in the sideline bleachers. Mariota waved to them when he heard his name called and signed autographs afterward.
For all Mariota’s quiet nature, he is driven to compete and be a passionate leader. Running back DeMarco Murray calls him a ” ‘quiet assassin’ on the field.”
Douglas, a 10-year NFL veteran, says Mariota rules the huddle and gained the respect of veterans soon after arriving. “We’ve seen how hard he works, how he dedicates himself and how badly he wants to win,” Douglas said. “He has the athleticism and that drive.”
Lewan said, “Like I said, there’s no better dude.”
EXPERIENCING NASHVILLE
If the country stars know who Mariota is, he is getting familiar with them, too.
“When you are in Nashville, you have to experience (country music),” Mariota said. “The (lower) Broadway (entertainment) area is a lot of fun. My girlfriend and I have been to a few concerts — Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line. … We went to the CMA Music Festival at the (Nissan) stadium last year.”
Mariota said, “My parents, when I was growing up, they listened to some of it. So I had a little taste. And my girlfriend likes it, so I started listening, too. It is enjoyable.”
Mariota says he doesn’t have a “go-to” comfort food place like Zippy’s back in Honolulu but has sampled an array of barbecue places in Tennessee. “It’s not like food in Hawaii, but it is pretty good,” Mariota said. “It sure fills you up.”
And, when he needs a reminder of home or longs for loco moco or chicken katsu, there is a 25-minute drive to an L&L Hawaiian Grill franchise in nearby Franklin, Tenn., run by former Titans offensive lineman Eugene Amano.
TITANS PROUD OF NO. 1 PICK
From his vantage points in the Titans’ front office and in the community, Spears says Mariota has been everything the team hoped for — and more — since making him their No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
“Marcus is most interested in winning and most interested in being a quality human being, all attributes that come from a strong family background, and that is part of what made him attractive to the organization,” Spears said.
The payoff on the pick was immediate. Mariota was the No. 1-selling NFL jersey in the spring and summer of 2015 when he was drafted by the Titans, Spears said. “Since then he has consistently stayed in the top 20 or top 25,” Spears said. “For us (in Tennessee) he is clearly our biggest seller, dwarfing all the other players.”
But he says Mariota has a growing legion of followers. “We see it not only around Tennessee but, increasingly, in other places that we travel. We noticed there were a lot of Mariota jerseys in New York last week for the game with the Jets,” Spears said.
When people find out that Spears works for the Titans, invariably the first question he says he gets is, ” ‘Is Marcus really like (all) that for real? Is he really that nice and humble?’ “
Spears’ answer: “Yes.”