Titans OC Explains Challenges Facing Cam Ward

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is adjusting for his first season in the NFL, which will look a lot different compared to his five years in college.

Ward is no stranger to change, having played for Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami throughout his collegiate career. He's learning an entire new playbook for the fourth time in five years, but the defenses he is going against will line up much differently.

Titans offensive coordinator Nick Holz looked into what will be different from Ward's passing in college versus the pros.

"I'm sure in college, that was open and got completed," Holz said via ESPN insider Turron Davenport. "This time, there was a different result. And he's kind of like, 'Well, I used to do this and that.' Now he sees the speed of the game, how quick those windows are."

The college football field is also wider compared to the NFL. In college, offenses tend to go towards the outside because there is more space for receivers to get open. That isn't the case in the NFL, so Ward has to get used to that aspect of the professional game.

"You come from college and you just feel like the wide field is so far out there," Holz said via Davenport. "You get all these boundary pressures all the time. All the field pressures in college, you can kind of see them from a mile away. In the NFL, the ball is pretty much in the middle of the field."

Holz is working with Ward to get that part of his game adjusted, but the best practice will be live, in-game reps.

Practice can only simulate so much of what will happen on Sundays, but training camp and preseason games will give Ward the opportunity to test that speed.

Training camp begins for Ward and the Titans when they report on July 22. The team's preseason opener is set for Aug. 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.