NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota will lead the Titans onto the field Friday morning for their first practice of his first training camp.
"Everything I've done in my lifetime, in my career as a football player, has built up for this moment, to kind of get ready to make the most of it," he said Thursday in a news conference after players reported. "So I'm excited. I can't wait to get things going, and I look forward to tomorrow."
Over the last few days, Mariota gathered receivers at Father Ryan High School in Nashville to work out together. Before that he spent some individual time with veteran wideout Hakeem Nicks.
Mariota said it was good to get things rolling again and to make sure guys will be starting out on the same page.
He cited the new stuff that will unfold at practice as ranking among the most important.
"Now we're going to start getting into some situational football, whether that's third-and-longs and red zone stuff, things that are really important in the middle of the game," Mariota said. "For me, I want to be able to win those competitive drills and make sure as an offense we are growing and progressing."
The Titans want to give their new starting quarterback plenty of work to get him ready, but coach Ken Whisenhunt said the team will be conscious of overworking Mariota.
Whisenhunt said having too many plays won't do the team any good, but they need to have enough to ensure they are diverse enough on offense.
"You don't want to get to a point where you don't allow him to play fast," Whisenhunt said.
Mariota said he wants the team to consistently build on standards it set during offseason work.
He was asked about an offseason rumor that a clause allowing him to surf was a contract holdup, a rumor that was not true.
A longtime boogie boarder, he said he actually did try out surfing with some friends while he was home in Hawaii.
"Boogie board, you're laying down on a board," he said. "Kind of as a joke, we all decided that we wanted to go and try surfing. I hadn't ever surfed in my life, to be honest with you.
"The faces that people were making when I was out there with a surfboard, was priceless. But we had a lot of fun. It was pretty enjoyable. ... This time around I was able to stand up and catch a few waves, so it was fun."
Nonetheless, he said he'll be sticking with boogie boarding in the future.