Brian Callahan is sending a secret weapon Tennessee Titans coach to work with Shedeur Sanders ahead of 2025 NFL Draft
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are going to need to collect all of the data they can get on the incoming quarterback class. With the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a clear need at the position, scouting the top draft prospects is essential. Tennessee is wasting no time getting an up […]
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans are going to need to collect all of the data they can get on the incoming quarterback class. With the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a clear need at the position, scouting the top draft prospects is essential.
Tennessee is wasting no time getting an up close and personal look at Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The Titans will be getting an advantage over the 31 other NFL teams because an "unsung hero" member of the Titans' coaching staff is going to be working with Sanders months before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Payton McCollum, who is an offensive assistant in Tennessee that works with both wide receivers and quarterbacks, is going to be coaching in the East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, TX next week. McCollum will be the quarterbacks coach for the West Team and will be working with Sanders all week.
Having a member of the Titans' coaching staff get a close look at Sanders is important. But it holds even more weight with some background info on McCollum's role with the organization.
Despite not being a big name or high ranking staff member in title, McCollum is one of Brian Callahan's most valued assistant coaches. In an exclusive interview with Easton Freeze of AtoZ Sports, Callahan called McCollum "a machine" and went into detail about how invaluable he is to the team's everyday process.
"The guy that brings probably the most unsung hero-ness is Payton McCollum, who I think people are starting to see a little bit of," Callahan said when asked about his coaching staff. "He is a machine. The quality control coaches on every side of the ball are sort of your lifeblood and nobody really understands what they do or how they do it."
"I will say this, when you don't have a really good one, everybody feels the effect of it because things aren't done the way they need to be done. But when you have a really good one, the way the process works is almost seamless because they just handle things. They don't need anybody to tell them what to do. They just do it. They can anticipate problems. [McCollum} is one of the best ones I've been around when it comes to handling it and being on top of it and making sure everyone has what they need. He's a fantastic young coach and he'll get an opportunity to coach here sooner than later, but for what he does and how he does it, he's invaluable to our process."
Callahan didn't shy away from the fact that McCollum would be scouting Sanders. There is a clear value for the Titans to have trusted eyes on the potential future of the franchise.
"He's going to go coach the quarterbacks down at the East-West. He gets hands on experience with [Sanders] for a week. Coaching him and teaching him and interacting. So it's great for him personally – for his development – and it's great for us to have one of our people with sort of boots on the ground and in that game," said Callahan of McCollum.
"I trust what he has to say. I trust his opinion. When he says something, usually it's very well researched. It's thought out. It's informed. I think that's what he's done is earn that respect and that trust."
McCollum is a true secret weapon. He is not only a fast riser in the coaching world that should become a position coach soon. He's also a trusted voice within the Titans' organization whose opinion carries weight with the head coach.
If Shedeur Sanders demonstrates all of the leadership characteristics we saw of him at Colorado and performs well next week, it could go a long way towards making him the 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Stay tuned for the full 90-minute interview, which will be out on AtoZSports.com and the A to Z Sports Nashville YouTube channel Friday morning at 8:00am CST.
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