Tennessee
Secondary stifles red zone passing, plus 3 more takeaways from Tennessee Titans practice
Receiver Tyler Boyd, linebacker Jack Gibbens and safety Amani Hooker were among the Tennessee Titans who made impressive plays in confined spaces for their second mandatory minicamp practice of the offseason.
Red zone pass plays were the focus of the Titans’ 7-on-7 team session at the end of Wednesday’s practice. Quarterback Will Levis only completed 3 of his 8 pass attempts with two scrambles on 10 reps, finding Boyd and running back Tony Pollard for touchdowns but also throwing an interception to Gibbens and having a pass batted away by Hooker trying to fit passes into tight spaces. Three of Levis’ incompletions came when trying to connect with receivers in the back corners of the end zone, a feat he was never able to accomplish against a stingy defense.
Levis’ touchdown to Boyd came on an impressive route where he deked linebacker Chance Campbell to the outside before crashing inside on a slant route and coasting into the end zone.
Backup quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Malik Willis fared a little better in their red zone reps, throwing five touchdowns on 10 attempts, though Rudolph also had a pass batted away in traffic and Willis fired a short throw a little too hard into traffic and it was nearly intercepted.
Here are three more quick observations from Wednesday’s minicamp.
Absences, limitations pile up
Cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, two of the Titans’ key offseason acquisitions, were both on the field but not involved in team activities, making some of the successes in the cornerback room all the more impressive. Receiver Calvin Ridley dealt with similar circumstances, dressing out and walking through some drills but not participating in team periods. Ridley grabbed at his shoulder after diving for an errant pass Tuesday but continued practicing without limitation after the incident.
Defensive tackles Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat were once again absent from on-field activities, continuing a trend that’s persisted since the start of OTAs.
Special teams notes
Wednesday was the first time the Titans practiced kickoff returns during a media viewing period this summer. Eight players lined up as potential options to return under the league’s new kickoff rules: running backs Pollard, Tyjae Spears and Jabari Small, receivers Burks, Kyle Philips, Mason Kinsey and Jha’Quan Jackson and cornerback Eric Garror.
Undrafted free agent kicker Brayden Narveson showed off his leg strength by nailing a kick from more than 50 yards out, but missed a shorter kick wide enough to somehow not hit the netting behind the goal post and land in the lake overlooking the practice field.
ESTES: Treylon Burks’ goal for this Tennessee Titans season is as simple as it is telling
A little bit of scene setting
Temperatures were up in the low 80s, but it didn’t seem to faze Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins or rookie tackle JC Latham, all of whom wore long sleeves under their pads, with Hopkins and Latham wearing hooded sweatshirts.
Several players and entire position groups hung around the field after practice to get some extra work in. Levis stuck around to throw some end zone passes, with running back Hassan Haskins catching for him. A gaggle of five defensive backs stayed outside longer than any Titans, with Sneed leading the group inside roughly 35 minutes after the final practice whistle blew.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
Tennessee
There’s No Gray Area For Dobie In Tennessee – SPEED SPORT
SWEETWATER, Tenn. — Devon Dobie traded the lead twice with the defending Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear National Champion Dale Howard to win Night 2 of the North vs. South Shootout at I-75 Raceway on Saturday night.
The event was co-sanctioned by United Sprint Car Series and the Great Lakes Sprint Car Series.
Dobie led the first five laps of the 30-lap feature race, but Howard grabbed the lead on a lap six restart. Dobie was able to wrestle the lead back from Howard in lapped traffic on lap 18 to lead back the rest of the way. Chase Dunham of Leipsic, OH finished second and Howard, who was the Friday night winner, took the third spot.
Ryan Turner started 10th and finished fourth, while Jac Nickles was fifth.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 23 Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH (1); 2. 66 Chase Dunham, Leipsic, OH (5); 3. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (2); 4. 15 Ryan Turner, Dunnville, ON CAN (10); 5. 31 Jac Nickles, Harrod, OH (4); 6. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (11); 7. 10m Morgan Turpen-Havener, Gallatin, TN (3); 8. 6 Ryan Coniam, Burlington, ON CAN (6); 9. 16 Ryan Ruhl, Coldwater, MI (8); 10. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (13); 11. 71h Max Stambaugh, Lima, OH (12); 12. 20i Kelsey Ivy, Fremont, OH (7); 13. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (18); 14. 24 Kobe Allison, Lima, OH (14); 15. 23m Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (15); 16. 87xs Skyler Evans, Scotland, ON CAN (17); 17. 22 Aaron Shaffer, Tekonsha, MI (23); 18. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (22); 19. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (19); 20. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (21); 21. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (20); 22. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (16); 23. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (9); 24. 11h Caleb Harmon, Elida, OH DNS.
Tennessee
One injured after boat wreck on Tennessee River in Morgan County
One person was injured Saturday afternoon after a boat wreck on the Tennessee River in Morgan County, according to the Morgan County Rescue Squad. Emergency crews were dispatched around 1 p.m. to the river near mile marker 306, close to the GE plant on the south side. While responders were in route, dispatchers confirmed the incident involved a boat crash with at least one reported injury. Rescue squad boats located the vessel and those involved shortly after arriving on scene. Officials said the injured person was transported by a nearby boater to the GE plant boat ramp, where Decatur Fire and Rescue and Decatur Morgan Ambulance took over medical care. The patient was then taken by ambulance to Decatur Morgan Hospital for further treatment. Information gathered from individuals involved in the incident indicates the boat may have struck an object beneath the water’s surface, causing it to overturn multiple times. All three people on board were thrown into the water. Nearby boaters stopped to help those involved and called 911. Multiple agencies responded to the incident, including Morgan County Central Dispatch, Decatur Fire and Rescue, Decatur Morgan Ambulance and the Alabama State Trooper Marine Patrol Division.
The Alabama State Trooper Marine Patrol Division is handling the investigation into what caused the crash.
Tennessee
New strain of tuberculosis cases in Tennessee is resistant to treatment options
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — More than 10,000 Americans and 141 Tennesseans tested positive for tuberculosis in 2025, according to recently released data from the CDC.
We spoke with Dr. Schaffner, a Professor of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, about the impact this bacterial infection has on Tennesseans.
FHO TUBERCULOSIS CASES IN TN 4.11.26
“It’s a bacterial infection spread through close personal contact. It mostly involves the lungs, but can get to other parts of the body. Now, once infected most of the time, most people fight off the infection. They never get sick. Some do, we call that acute tuberculosis, but the bug can live within us, quietly, hibernating like a bear in a cave, and then it can wake up after 10,15, 20 years, and cause what we call reactivation tuberculosis, said Dr. Schaffner, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.”
One misconception many people may not be aware of is that there is no readily available vaccine for tuberculosis, as it’s not commonly administered in the U.S.
It’s intended to protect young children from severe forms of TB disease, as it offers limited protection for adults.
Many tuberculosis strains are now resistant to the 60-plus-year-old antibiotics that remain a common first-line treatment.
“We don’t have a vaccine against tuberculosis, yet. People are really working on that, because tuberculosis continues to be the major infectious disease killer around the world. So there would be a global need for this vaccine. Here in the United States, we try to identify cases, get them treated, examine all their contacts to make sure that they did or did not get the illness, and if they did, treat the contacts also, said Dr. Schaffner, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.”
The overall message that health experts want to reiterate is the importance of knowing your status and talking with your primary care doctor if you come in contact with this disease.
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