Chance Warmack was never in the running for the Heisman Trophy, but he soon will be blocking for a third player who has won college football's top individual honor.
As a sophomore at Westlake High in Atlanta, Warmack was a teammate of Cam Newton, who went on to earn the 2010 Heisman on Auburn's national championship team. Warmack signed with Alabama in 2009 and was a freshman when tailback Mark Ingram became the first Heisman winner in Crimson Tide history.
Now the 6-foot-2, 323-pound Tennessee Titans guard is preparing to work with former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, the most recent Heisman Trophy winner who was tabbed last Thursday night as the second overall pick in the NFL draft.
"You can always tell how they're different in the way they prepare for the game, and I'm pretty sure OVERSET FOLLOWS:Mariota is going to be no different," Warmack said this week. "You could tell that Cam and Mark Ingram were cut from a different cloth, and I'm excited to see what Mariota will bring to the table to help the team."
Warmack was a three-year starter at Alabama and also protected quarterback AJ McCarron, the Heisman runner-up to Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston in 2013.
The 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft, Warmack became the franchise's first guard taken in the opening round since 1983, when the Houston Oilers selected eventual Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews. Warmack has started all 32 games the past two seasons and will be in Chattanooga late Saturday afternoon along with defensive tackle Karl Klug as the Titans Caravan stops at Academy Sports + Outdoors on Highway 153 in Hixson.
In his four seasons at Alabama, Warmack played in 45 games and started his final 40. As a senior in 2012, his blocking consistency grade of 89.94 percent was the highest in the nation as he helped lead the Crimson Tide to their third BCS championship in four years.
Warmack's favorite game with the Tide was his finale, the 42-14 thrashing of Notre Dame in Miami, but he was mostly on the losing end last season as the Titans went 2-14.
"I look at everything as blessings," said Warmack, who was a guest on "Press Row" on ESPN 105.1 FM. "To be with a team that has a lot of adversity to overcome is just going to make it that much sweeter when we're in the playoffs and we're competing for the Super Bowl. I'm rolling through the punches with my teammates and my coaches, and I'm really excited to see what we can do this year.
"I know people don't see this on the outside looking in, but we're getting closer as a team and we're getting better. We have bonded better this offseason than we have the last couple of years, and the sky is the limit for us."
The Titans used their first-round pick last year on Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan, who was selected sixth overall.
Once a little known three-star recruit, Warmack has achieved great things on and off the field. He returned to Tuscaloosa last weekend to receive his masters degree in sports management, and he considers his life journey far from over.
"I'm still climbing the mountain," he said. "A lot of guys have this process set up in their mind that got them through college and will work in the NFL if they do the same thing, but nine times out of 10, that doesn't work. The NFL is a different animal, and you've got to change everything based off where you go.
"I had to start completely from scratch. I'm going into my third year, and I finally feel like I've settled into a system."
Though much remains for Warmack to accomplish, it's hard to fathom that he is just 23 years old and about to work with his third Heisman winner once he and Mariota gather on the practice field.
"I've heard a lot about him, but I haven't met him yet," Warmack said. "I've heard he's a good leader. Obviously he's a good quarterback. He won the Heisman. I've heard he's an all-around good person, so I am excited about getting things rolling.
"There is definitely a buzz going on around the team."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.