NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The football fell to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, arced perfectly to come down between closing defenders Jamal Adams and Jarvis Brownlee, quickly delivered and timed to let the receiver get both his feet in bounds as he headed out of the right side of the field.
NWI politely asked his way back onto the field through observers after he gathered his momentum, and turned to take off as if there were yards after the catch to be had though he’d been 10 yards out of bounds, obeying the practice habit instilled in players at his position.
The mid-range out-breaking route was Will Levis’ best pass of his first training camp practice as the Titans' starting quarterback, a session that included no long passes because as the team acclimatizes it is easing into long sprints for skill players to help avoid soft tissue injuries.
The Titans are Levis’ team now, his development their biggest story, the biggest question about them around the league. His quick release and big arm are his top features, but much of his success and that
of his team will be built on passes like this one. He continues to impress with thoughtful answers that often go well beyond what he’s asked and starts his second season with what sure sounds like a firm grasp of the assignment.
“That route and that throw specifically is going to have to be a big one in our offense and there are different ways to throw it,” Levis said. “I feel like how we connected on that one is easiest on both ends, at least for him to catch-secure. And for me to repetitively get that down and do it in the same timing and sequence, that was a lot of the work that I’ve put in in the last few weeks paying off. Just one of those ones that as soon as it leaves your hand, you know it’s going to be good.”
First training camp clip just dropped...and it's a dime
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) July 24, 2024
presented by @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/GUTfMAwQjH
Said Westbrook-Ikhine: “It was a great ball by Will, great anticipation on that. It’s one of those where I’m getting it if it’s a really good ball with that look and he delivered.”
Levis said he probably wouldn’t have made the throw last spring. It’s something he’s thrown his whole life, but he’s grown and thrown it differently over time. As he’s adjusted it, there have been times he’s felt he was setting himself back in order to advance to a place where he’s as consistent with it as he was with “whatever stroke you had before.”
Brian Callahan is only going to talk about every third day during camp, so he wasn’t available to share thoughts on that play or on Levis’ performance.
I thought he started off a little imprecise throwing to receivers with no defenders – a little behind Treylon Burks to the left, high to Tre’Shaun Harrison on the left sideline forcing him to jump to corral the pass, low to DeAndre Hopkins. He finished off that period with a really nice ball to David Martin-Robinson in stride up the middle.
But when the secondary joined the skill players for seven-on-seven, Levis got much better for the most part and showed some moxie, putting several throws into nice windows. A couple of balls hit the ground after catches on balls thrown by Mason Rudolph, and Levis tossed a too-high pitch to Tony Pollard who lost it but was then able to fall on it. The defense made plays and chirped but Levis did no backing down.
Will Levis has begun journaling. Came up when asked about what he does in brief down time. #Titans. pic.twitter.com/LGX8iMhPlx
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) July 24, 2024
Pulling back from Wednesday and looking more broadly at what Levis has done this offseason, including organizing a trip to Cabo for several skill players and workouts at Vanderbilt, Calvin Ridley compared his path to that of the quarterback he played with in Atlanta.
“I played with Matt Ryan, Will’s doing the same thing Ice did,” Ridley said. “He’s ready to work. He’s not satisfied with bullshit. He wants it to be good, he wants to work to get better so that when the games cut on we look good.”
Levis said he was pumped to be able to put those workouts together and enjoy the bonding that came out of them. Those reps with his guys helped a lot with his feel for them. And things are far different from a rookie year when he was competing for the backup job in camp and missed time hurt, then was thrust into the lineup during the season when Ryan Tannehill was hurt before being anointed the starter.
“The stress levels are way down,” he said.
In these early days, the plan is to take the easy ones. But Levis knows what’s coming and layering that in is exciting to him and to everyone involved.
“I’m really looking forward to taking those shots and finding that line between pushing it and testing it, I guess,” he said. “You don’t want to be reckless with the ball. But now’s the time to test my arm and test the ability of these guys and the skill sets that they have. We know that special plays are made in those 
certain situations and we need to work on those if we expect them to show up on Sundays or Mondays.”
Asked a question about big quarterback contracts and the short timeline guys get before decisions are made on such things, I expected him to sidestep. He did not, rather providing more cause to appreciate his mentality.
“I know how quickly this blessing can be taken away from me,” he said. “And I definitely remind myself every so often to keep myself in check and to make sure my work ethic is on point. It’s a cutthroat league, it’s a business and I know that if I didn’t show up on Sundays, I won’t have my job and rightfully so.
“I just want to make sure that when I get out there for game day, I’m going to be my best and I can prove the people right in this building that they were right in picking me to come here.”