He has played just once since a knee injury suffered in that opening win over Jacksonville, a game in which he had to be coaxed back onto the field shortly before being injured because of boos from the home crowd after an interceptions.

After Young recovered from the knee injury, he was thrown into watch and learn mode by the Titans, as Kerry Collins took over the starting quarterback job and has led Tennessee to the NFL's best record at 13-2 and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Meanwhile, Young, whose only action since was in mop-up duty on Thanksgiving Day, is going to get a chance to show what he has learned this year on Sunday in Indianapolis.

Since the game means nothing seeding-wise to the Titans (or the Colts for that matter), Young will relieve Collins and get a chance to run the offense, likely for a significant portion of the game.

"Anytime you get a chance to get out there on that football field, you're not only showing your teammates, but a bunch of people around the league and things like that," Young said. "I'm just in the shadows right now. I'm getting some time to myself to think and learn the business. ... Overall, I'm learning a lot definitely."

Young, a star at the University of Texas, a first-round pick in 2006 and the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year that season, admits that accepting the backup role has been a bit of a challenge for him, especially with 30 NFL starts already under his belt and a playoff appearance on his resume.

"With me being the competitive person that I am, I definitely want to be out there contributing to the team," Young said. "Right now, that's not playing out there on the football field; it's being a scout team quarterback for our defense and sitting behind five and learning from a veteran quarterback. All I can do right now is work out and do my job and take care of my responsibilities as a backup quarterback."

Young also acknowledged in a somewhat roundabout what that what happened back on Sept. 7 with Titans fans booing him after his second interception of the game, is not something he will soon forget.

"From what they showed, I'll always remember that about our fans about how they feel about me in a certain way," Young said. "Not all of them, but the ones that did. At the same time, I've just got to go out and play my game and not worry about it. I'm just really in here with my teammates basically."

SERIES HISTORY: 28th regular-season meeting. Colts lead, 15-12. The Titans took control of the AFC South in the first meeting back on Oct. 27 with a 31-21 victory that improved Tennessee to 7-0 and dropped Indianapolis to 3-4. The Colts have not lost since that game.