And when Young was inserted into the lineup just four games into his rookie year, again Adams' influence played a role. Young went on to experience enough early success to be the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that season.

Since then, however, Young's fall has been well documented, ending with his benching and a bizarre disappearance the day after being booed and injured in the season opener.

Young is on the road back, trying to salvage his once promising pro career, and said he realizes now that hard work, dedication and striving to earn everything are the keys to turning his football life around.

"It goes back to taking care of my responsibilities, being here with the guys and doing the extra things to better myself," Young said. "Kerry Collins is a veteran. He knows the game, he has seen probably every defense you can throw at him. I want to get to the point that when I get behind center that I'm very comfortable reading defenses and doing the same as what he's seeing. That's pretty much what I've been doing, just studying the game and getting my health right and learning the business of the NFL."

Early in the offseason, Young, now the second-stringer behind Collins, met with coach Jeff Fisher and asked what it would take to win back the No. 1 job. In short, Fisher indicated it would take an improved approach, better knowledge of the game and commitment. In turn, Young said he told Fisher he wanted to earn whatever came his way.

"I basically told him, I don't want him to give me anything," Young said. "I just want to come in here and take care of my responsibilities and earn everything. Whatever I'm given, I want it to be what I earn. That's basically what I told him."

Thus far, Fisher says he is pleased with Young's new attitude to the situation.

"He's been great. He's come out and he's worked with Mike (Heimerdinger) and Craig (Johnson) and the receivers and he's doing what everybody else has been doing. It's a non-issue. He's competing and trying to get better," Fisher said.

--RB LenDale White has a new approach with a trimmer look and now has his sights set on something else -- regaining his old college number, 21.

White has worn 25 since joining the Titans as a second-round draft choice in 2006 out of Southern California. But a part of him has longed to wear the No. 21 jersey he donned for the Trojans. The problem was that cornerback Reynaldo Hill already had that jersey number.

However, Hill is an unrestricted free agent the Titans apparently have no interest in re-signing, and the number is finally vacant, and perhaps there for the taking for White. That is, if the financial wrangling with the companies who make the jerseys and White can get together and agree.

"We're still working on that. It's still in the works," White said. "It's definitely the league. The NFL and Reebok, they've got to get their cash. You just can't change the number. They've got to get some of that money."

--TE Bo Scaife said he got a bit of a scare from the inaccurate Wikipedia post on the Internet that had him traded by the Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"I heard something like that, and my phone was going off the hook. I knew that wasn't true. I had to sign my deal first before anything like that could go down," Scaife said.

A league source told the Nashville City Paper that a deal that could have sent Scaife to the Eagles during draft weekend was certainly a possibility, but nothing came of it.

Scaife, who signed his $4.46 million franchise tender, wasn't as fortunate as Albert Haynesworth last year in signing the one-year guarantee. The Titans were unwilling to work any incentives into the deal that would allow Scaife to avoid the franchise tag in 2010, like Haynesworth did in 2009.

--The Titans have taken on a new strategy when it comes to filling out the back end of their training camp roster. Instead of flooding the field with a dozen or so undrafted rookies, general manager Mike Reinfeldt has gone shopping for experienced players who were out of the NFL the previous year, trying to make their way back into the league.

The strategy worked last season, as Tennessee found DE Dave Ball, who wound up making the 53-man roster and recording four sacks after being out of football in '07.

This year, counted among the long shots hoping to follow suit are CB Christian Morton, who has parts of four years in the NFL, dating back to 2004 and WR Craphonso Thorpe, who had 12 receptions for Indianapolis in '07, but fell through the cracks last year and was not on a roster.

"Basically, we're going to go to camp with a set number (of players) and as opposed to signing a lot of undrafted college free agents that don't have a lot of NFL experience, you choose to go the other direction with guys who have had NFL experience that you can get in the offseason program and it makes your overall roster more competitive," coach Jeff Fisher said.

--WR Nate Washington got a bit of a scare during an organized team activity on May 5. Washington, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, signed a six-year, $27 million deal in the off-season, and is being counted upon to bolster an inconsistent receiving corps. Washington caught a deep pass from QB Kerry Collins along the sideline, but then ran right into a riser where the Titans' video crew was filming practice. Fortunately for Washington, there were pads there to deflect some of the impact, and he was OK.

Asked which one won that battled, Washington said, "Actually, the crane did. Thank God the pass was there and I didn't get hurt or anything. I wish I had caught myself before it happened so I wouldn't have to discuss this."

The Titans then moved the drill back about five yards to prevent a repeat occurrence.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm not really paying attention to that. I hope the fans still love me, but if not, that's not anything I'm worried about. I'm worried about my teammates and playing the game and just winning football games, and doing what I can to help our guys get to the Super Bowl." -- QB Vince Young on fans reactions to him in preseason. Young hasn't played in a home game since being booed and momentarily refusing to return in last year's season opener.