Tennessee Titans rookie Jonathan "Tig" Willard played the part of hero Tuesday, rescuing a family and its dog from a burning car.

Jonathan "Tig" Willard helped to pull a woman, three children and a dog from this burning car, which quickly became engulfed on I-40 in Tennessee. Courtesy Tig Willard

The former Clemson linebacker was traveling from South Carolina to report to the Titans' training camp in Nashville when he encountered the family in distress on Interstate 40 in Tennessee.

"I saw this car in front of me, and it had all kinds of black smoke coming out of it," Willard told TigerNet.com, which covers Clemson athletics. "I tried to speed up and get up next to the car to let them know the car was on fire."

Willard, who signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, told the website he pulled beside the car and honked his horn to alert the female driver, who was in the car with three children and a dog, that her vehicle was in flames.

"When she pulled over, the car was really on fire at that point," Willard told TigerNet.com. "The driver, she acted like she was in some kind of daze or something. She told me that she didn't stop because she didn't think it was her car that was on fire. Another guy stopped, and we managed to get the kids and the dog out and get them to safety, and then I finally got the woman out."

Willard said Wednesday he handed an infant to the woman before pulling out another child. A second man who had stopped rescued a third child and the family's dog, and they were able to grab the woman's purse and a couple bags before the SUV exploded into flames a couple minutes later. He stayed long enough for firefighters to arrive and put out the fire.