DENTON, Texas. – It started with an introduction.
Titans coach Brian Callahan saw quarterback Shedeur Sanders, decked out in a Colorado sweatshirt, here on Friday morning on the campus of the University of North Texas, so he went up and started what turned into a 15-minute conversation.
Sanders is in town for East-West Shrine Bowl practices, and teams across the NFL flooded the school's indoor practice facility to see the quarterbacks at a throwing session. The Titans are well represented here, with Callahan, new general manager Mike Borgonzi, and president of football operations Chad Brinker joined by coaches and scouts from the team.
"You can tell he's been raised right," Callahan said of his first impression of Sanders, son of Colorado coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. "He's mature, he has a really poised way about him, and he seems like a really good kid. I enjoyed talking to him. And, you could tell he's a guy who has been in the spotlight. He knows how to handle himself, he's been paid money, so he has a financial perspective.
"It was a really good first impression."
The Titans headed into their offseason with the No.1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and it's no secret they're interested in quarterbacks, from draft eligible players to potential free agents.
In the coming months, they'll have a number of opportunities to meet the stars of college football, from Sanders to Miami's Cam Ward to Mississippi's Jaxson Dart to Alabama's Jalen Milroe to many more.
While scouts have been on the road for months, the East-West Shrine Bowl presents the best opportunity for those wrapped up in football during the fall, like Callahan, to see a bunch of prospects. Next week the Titans will head to Mobile, Ala., for Senior Bowl practices, next month the group will head to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, and then there will be Pro Days, private workouts, and officials visits leading up to the draft.
Sanders didn't throw during a throwing session for the QBs here on Friday, but he's scheduled to take part in practices in the coming days. Ward, considered by many to be the top quarterback prospect in this year's draft class, isn't here, and he's not scheduled to be in Mobile either.
This week, the Titans will dig deeper into Sanders, who threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2024.
"The thing that stands out the most is his toughness," Callahan said of Sanders. "He took some pretty big shots and he kept rolling. He can stand in the pocket and deliver it. He can move and create a bit, he has some ability to move out the pocket, and he does create on his own. He's not a high-end dynamic scrambler necessarily, but he is productive when he does. And he really has a good feel for anticipation and timing, you can tell he's been coached in that regard. Those things show up on tape."
The Titans were hoping to get a chance to spend time with Ward, who threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2024, either here or in Mobile, but it sounds like they'll have to wait.
Callahan has watched tape on Ward, and he's has been impressed by him as well.
"He does some really cool stuff," Callahan said of Ward. "He has a really loose throwing motion, and I mean that in the best way. He can spin the ball well. He has all the different arm angles. He has the ability to move and create. He's put some really impressive throws on tape.
"Without knowing the person at all, just from what I've seen in a limited viewing, is he's incredibly talented. I think you see him do some things that are very unique with his ability to throw the ball."
In addition to Callahan, Borgonzi and Brinker, offensive coordinator Nick Holz is also at the Shrine Bowl, along with Titans assistant Payton McCollum, who will serve as quarterbacks coach of the West team Sanders is on. Over a dozen members of the team's coaching and scouting staffs were at Friday's throwing session for the quarterbacks.
Callahan said the process leading up to the draft is invaluable, especially as it relates to the quarterbacks.
"It's big," Callahan said. "It's another chance to be in contact with them. Even though Shedeur didn't throw today, I got a chance to talk to him for 15 minutes and that's one touchpoint to probably what's going to be multiple – Combine touchpoint, pro day touchpoint, 30-visit touchpoint, to where you really get to uncover everything about the player. The film is the film, but the rest of it is important – who they are, how they function, what their personality is, what they are like in the building when you get them in for a 30-visit. And then you get to the point where you have a full picture of the player and the person, and it allows you to make the best decision. Every one of these matters, and they all have different values over the course of the process.
"Especially for the first exposure for this, it was invaluable for me to put a name to a face for Shedeur and talk to him. And there are other players here, too, that you get your first exposure to in the scouting process."
