Calm and relaxed walking between interviews Thursday night, the drama was over for Rashaan Evans.

His crimson suit now paired with a Tennessee Titans cap, the smile didn't fade. Draft day wasn't as smooth as the former Alabama linebacker made it look.

It had its moments, no doubt.

Walking the red carpet outside AT&T Stadium before the draft, Evans' mother fainted. Then came the green room anxiety as picks went by and his name wasn't called.

All of it faded when the 615-area code popped onto Evans new phone. He was heading to Nashville as the No. 22 pick and mom was feeling much better by then.

"When you're sitting in that green room, it's a lot different from what you'd expect," Evans said later. "When you're actually in there, time feels like it's forever but once you get that call, you forget about all that stuff and you're just excited to be part of a team."

And Evans didn't hide his reaction to landing with the Titans.

"I was actually surprised because I never took a visit to them," Evans said. "A lot of the teams that wanted me to come visit, I really thought those were the teams that were more interested. Still, they traded up. I was still surprised by that because I was the guy that didn't run the 40 and didn't do the bench and I still was even skeptical if I was even going to go in the first round. So, when they traded up and got me, man, my heart dropped."

Evans isn't completely unfamiliar with his new coach -- one who has extensive experience with his position. New Titans coach Mike Vrabel played linebacker in the NFL for 14 seasons having only retired in 2010.

Back at Alabama's pro day, the 42-year old was right there leading linebacker drills.

Evans several times Thursday said how surprised and honored he was to see the Titans traded up to land him. They had the No. 25 pick entering the night.

Part of Evans' value was his versatility. He played both outside and middle linebacker at Alabama, though he wasn't immediately clear on how the Titans will use him. There's room at middle linebacker after Avery Williamson left for the Jets in free agency.

He's just happy to be there for now.

"Just from this pick," he said, "it made my hunger go up even that much more, man."

Sitting in the makeshift green room, Evans felt the anxiety rising as the night wore on. Alabama's had at least one player attend the draft but slip out of the first round in each of the last four years.

"I was getting nervous," Evans said. "Me, coming in, I always think about the worst thing that could happen. I was still kind of skeptical that I was going in the first round. I was worried teams were scared at the fact I had a groin injury and that I didn't run a 40. The fact Tennessee traded up to get me, that just truly proved those guys wanted me."

After Minkah Fitzpatrick was picked 11th to the Miami Dolphins, Nick Saban moved over to the Evans family table in the green room. He didn't say much to the tense linebacker in the moments before the call. That changed when the pick came in.

"We both smiled at each other and gave each other a hug."

And mom?

"She's doing great now," a smiling Evans said late Thursday night. "She's a lot better the fact I was picked by the Tennessee Titans."

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.