Jason Wolf

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is growing more comfortable heading into his second pro season, but newcomer DeMarco Murray is taking charge.

The 2014 NFL rushing champ, acquired for a mere swap of fourth-round picks after one disappointing season with the Eagles, is providing the vocal presence absent from the soft-spoken quarterback’s game.

“He’s a really intense guy,” rookie right tackle Jack Conklin, the Titans’ first-round draft pick, said Saturday at 102.5-FM’s Music City Sports Festival. “You can really see why he did so well in Dallas. He runs hard. Watching him even, just with helmets on in OTAs, he’s always, he’s hard, and if you’re not doing something right, he’s going to get on you, and that’s exactly what you need.

“For a running back,” Conklin said, “that’s something that’s a little new to me. He’s really a vocal guy. And it’s good. It really keeps everybody on their toes and everyone clicking because they know if they’re not doing something right, DeMarco is going to get on you about it. It makes everyone want to be perfect, because, you know, if we give him some space he’s going to do something special.”

Conklin, the eighth overall pick in the draft out of Michigan State, appeared on the radio at Music City Center and answered questions from a moderator and fans in the audience for roughly 45 minutes.

He touched on a number of additional topics, including:

His rise from college walk-on to All-America honors: “I felt like I should have had every offer in the United States, and coming in I played with that mentality.”

The epic 22-play, 82-yard, nine-minute, game-winning, fourth quarter drive against Iowa for the Big Ten championship: “I have never been a part of anything close to a drive like that. … It was crazy.”

Offensive lineman Byron Bell’s season-ending dislocated left ankle on the first day of OTAs: “Sobering,” but replacing him in practice as the starting right tackle is “definitely speeding up the learning process, because the more plays you’re in there doing the reps live, the more you start to understand the concepts and everything and see it.”

Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo is scheduled to speak at the festival at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Murray rushed for a league-high 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns on a whopping 392 carries in 2014, his fourth and final season with the Cowboys. He signed with the Eagles as a free agent, and after a slow start to the season fell out of favor with then-coach Chip Kelly, finishing with just 702 yards and six touchdowns on 193 carries. Those statistics would have led all Titans running backs last season.

The Titans further bolstered their running game by drafting hulking Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry out of Alabama with the 45th overall pick in the second round.

“He looks like a D-end running out there,” Conklin said.

And as for Mariota, the 2014 Heisman winner and young franchise quarterback?

“Being here and being able to work with him now,” Conklin said, “you can see why he’s so successful. He’s not a loud guy, but he’s very intelligent, and he’s a calming nature in the huddle. When you come in, you know he’s not going to be panicked, and that’s nice to see from the guy who’s leading the charge.”

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