NASHVILLE - The railing that separates Tennessee Titans football fans from the playing surface at Nissan Stadium was a busy place Saturday night. Thousands of Titans supporters, from young kids to grandparents, were reaching over that railing to have a Titan, any Titan, sign something before the team's private workout for season-ticket holders.
So former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive lineman Corey Levin was scribbling his signature as fast as he could on everything from ball caps to posters to tiny footballs.
Asked if the three-time FCS All-American had ever signed so many autographs at one time, Levin instantly replied, "No. No way."
But with Monday's news that he currently is No. 2 on the depth chart at center, the Dacula, Ga., native may have to get used to this fame game. Though final roster spots won't be determined until 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 - when all NFL clubs must trim their active/inactive rosters to no more than 53 players - if Levin continues running No. 2, he should make the team.
"Corey's progressing well," Titans coach Mike Mularkey said after Saturday's late workout. "You can see him getting better and better. He's a hard worker, both on the field and in the film room."
The first person in his immediate family to graduate from college, according to the Titans website, Levin has displayed great intelligence in how he's handled himself so far after being the 34th pick of the sixth round of the NFL draft.
"It's all about playing hard and playing smart at this level," Levin said after extensive playing time with the second unit in the scrimmage portion of Saturday's workout. "Everybody here was probably the best player on his college team at that position. So there's a lot of talent. You have to know your stuff. You have to work harder than the next guy. I'm studying the playbook and watching all the film I can every night."
If you don't think that determination to leave as little to chance as possible isn't being noticed, merely consider the observations of Mike Keith, the Voice of the Titans, after a little more than a week of workouts.
"He's really doing a nice job overall," Keith said. "Corey's running a lot with the No. 2s at center after not playing that position much in college. You have to be really impressed with his ability to adjust and learn."
Indeed, Levin spent all but one UTC game at guard last season, playing tackle against Furman and no games at center.
"But I definitely like playing center," he said Saturday. "I like calling plays (blocking assignments). They're changing defenses out there a lot. You have to be alert."
Here's alert: Earlier this summer, Mularkey decided to stage a spelling bee for the team's nine rookies without advance warning. After more rounds than the coach had expected, Levin won, correctly spelling "Toriscelli," which is the last name of the team's director of sports medicine: Todd Toriscelli.
According to the Titans website, Levin believes he got a break because Toriscelli had just spoken at the rookie development meeting.
"I guess they were probably surprised a little bit (I got it right)," Levin told the site. "They picked that word later on because they thought it was tough."
The immediate road ahead is tough. The Titans open their four-game exhibition season away from home this weekend against the New York Jets. They play two home games the next two weekends, hosting Carolina at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 19, before welcoming the Chicago Bears to the Music City on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 1 p.m. The exhibition season ends Thursday night, Aug. 31, at Kansas City.
Levin's fate likely will be decided during those contests, where Mularkey already has said the team's younger, less experienced players will get plenty of work.
"Our second and third group, they're going to be the guys that finish a lot of these games coming up here in the next four weeks," the coach said. "That practice time and those reps are invaluable."
Levin called last Saturday "a great learning experience. I got to play a lot more snaps than I expected. It was a lot of fun."
Monday's depth chart underscores that Mularkey and his staff believe Levin is learning enough possibly to stick around for the regular season. Given that former Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman is currently listed No. 1 at fullback on the New York Giants' depth chart, it also shows that UTC's talent level and development of that talent are first-rate.
Yet Levin also knows that besting the rookies either on the field or in a spelling bee isn't the same as pushing aside veterans on the final roster. For after winning that rookie spelling contest, he was knocked out by last year's rookie champ, Sebastian Tretola. Levin reportedly misspelled "restaurant."
Then again, Tretola was released by the Titans in late July, so spelling isn't everything. But if Levin can remain high on the team's depth chart for the rest of this preseason, he might not have to follow many of his fellow 2017 grads into washing dishes in a restaurant until their dream job comes along.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com