LetMeStay
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By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer
When Titans rookie Jesse Mahelona looks at fellow defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, he sees a mammoth player with the ability to impact every play.
"Albert is a prototypical defensive tackle. He does everything right, and if not he is beating the guy in front of him. His size gives him that advantage,'' said Mahelona, who, like Haynesworth, played at the University of Tennessee. "With me, I am short and compact, so I have to be sharp with my technique and do everything right.''
When the Titans look at Mahelona, they see a player on the spot. Following the season-ending injury to defensive tackle Rien Long on Saturday, the Titans need players to step up at the position so the rotation will be solid this fall.
Third-year pro Randy Starks starts alongside Haynesworth, while third-year pro Jared Clauss is the only other returning defensive tackle with NFL experience.
"When someone goes down, you have to pick up the slack,'' said Mahelona, a fifth-round pick. "Rien is a good player, and I am young and we have other young guys, too. But we just have step up and take control out there and follow the guys that are leading us now. ...
"I just want to show a lot of people what I can do. I did pretty well at Tennessee, and I want to go to the NFL and be even that much better. But right now it just takes time.''
At 6 feet tall, Mahelona is shorter than most interior linemen, but he's rock solid at 311 pounds and tough to move. His nickname, in fact, is "Yettie," which means "big" in Samoan.
"He just works. He smiles and works hard and listens and learns,'' Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said. "He plays with good leverage obviously with his height, but he has good strength and he is active.
"Some of the shorter guys up front have a tendency to get the pads high and look around. He has a sense for where the ball is because he can feel. He's very instinctive.''
Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn said that for now Mahelona is trying to please too much and trying not to make a mistake, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
But Mahelona has this going for him a helmet that fits him right. Because his helmet didn't fit him properly in college, he had a tendency to line up in an awkward stance, with his eyes looking down.
"In the NFL, you have to have good technique and be comfortable out there,'' Mahelona said. "Everything is so much faster out there. It's a change, but I'm confident I'll adjust.''
Staff Writer
When Titans rookie Jesse Mahelona looks at fellow defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, he sees a mammoth player with the ability to impact every play.
"Albert is a prototypical defensive tackle. He does everything right, and if not he is beating the guy in front of him. His size gives him that advantage,'' said Mahelona, who, like Haynesworth, played at the University of Tennessee. "With me, I am short and compact, so I have to be sharp with my technique and do everything right.''
When the Titans look at Mahelona, they see a player on the spot. Following the season-ending injury to defensive tackle Rien Long on Saturday, the Titans need players to step up at the position so the rotation will be solid this fall.
Third-year pro Randy Starks starts alongside Haynesworth, while third-year pro Jared Clauss is the only other returning defensive tackle with NFL experience.
"When someone goes down, you have to pick up the slack,'' said Mahelona, a fifth-round pick. "Rien is a good player, and I am young and we have other young guys, too. But we just have step up and take control out there and follow the guys that are leading us now. ...
"I just want to show a lot of people what I can do. I did pretty well at Tennessee, and I want to go to the NFL and be even that much better. But right now it just takes time.''
At 6 feet tall, Mahelona is shorter than most interior linemen, but he's rock solid at 311 pounds and tough to move. His nickname, in fact, is "Yettie," which means "big" in Samoan.
"He just works. He smiles and works hard and listens and learns,'' Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said. "He plays with good leverage obviously with his height, but he has good strength and he is active.
"Some of the shorter guys up front have a tendency to get the pads high and look around. He has a sense for where the ball is because he can feel. He's very instinctive.''
Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn said that for now Mahelona is trying to please too much and trying not to make a mistake, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
But Mahelona has this going for him a helmet that fits him right. Because his helmet didn't fit him properly in college, he had a tendency to line up in an awkward stance, with his eyes looking down.
"In the NFL, you have to have good technique and be comfortable out there,'' Mahelona said. "Everything is so much faster out there. It's a change, but I'm confident I'll adjust.''
