NASHVILLE – Titans rookie T'Vondre Sweat looked like a dancing bear as he maneuvered his way through the stand up dummies at rookie minicamp over the weekend.
The 6-foot-4, 366-pound defensive lineman showed off some pretty nifty footwork and agility as he raced around the pads.
On another drill, Sweat exploded out of his stance, pushed past another pad, and then leveled a red dummy at the conclusion of a practice rep in individual drills.
Eyes of nearby spectators lit up, about the same way Sweat did when he heard a question from a trainer during a break in the action: Need some water?
"Hell yeah!," Sweat said before dousing his mouth.
Rookie minicamp is on the books for Sweat and the team's other first-year players.
Two practices down and many more to go as the team's second-round pick does his best to get up to speed as quickly as possible in the NFL.
"I felt great," Sweat said. "Just being here, in Nashville, it's amazing. It was awesome to be out there. … Anyone, when you haven't played football in a minute, of course you're going to come out with a little rust. But once you're going, you're going."
Sweat said he worked with other Texas Longhorns from the time the NFL Draft took place, and minicamp, to prepare himself.
This week, he'll be incorporated into work with the veterans in the offseason program, with OTAs and a minicamp, on the horizon.
Titans Coach Brian Callahan said he was impressed with what he saw from Sweat right out of the gate.
"He looked good," Callahan said of Sweat. "I thought he moved well. You never know when guys get here, what they're going to look like. And I thought he did a nice job. Looked like the guy we saw on tape, which was good to see."
Sweat, who said during a conference call after being selected he wanted to play in the 350- to 355-pound range this fall, has already been in communication with team nutritionist Lauren Silvio about his diet.
Sweat said he'll work with Silvio and the team's coaching staff to find "that perfect weight for me," but he's not sure what it will be at this point.
Already, Sweat said he's already gotten a pretty good feel for defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, a coach he plans to bust his rear end for on a daily basis. Rocker worked with Sweat on his technique on the practice field during rookie camp, stressing the importance of keeping his feet going forward in drills.
"As far as skill set, he's a big man and this is a big man's league," Rocker said of Sweat. "And, I think that definitely helps us up front. Hopefully this guy develops into what we all want him to be. It's going to take time ... but he wants to (be great)."
After his first weekend in Nashville, Sweat is even more excited to get going.
"I'm not here to prove anything," he said. "It's a blessing to be here, in this organization. Just getting to come out here, competing with my teammates, being the best for the team. It's pretty exciting.
"I have a lot to work on. I am not a perfect person, no one here is perfect. There's a lot of stuff I have to work on, and I just have to come out here, get better at my craft, and take it day by day."
