The Tennessee Titans have a new franchise QB in Cam Ward, and they've pulled out all the stops to prepare him for success. That includes investment into the cutting edge of training technology.

If you paid attention at all to the 2024 NFL season, you probably caught wind of the Jayden Daniels VR story. The rookie phenom was open about his use of a virtual reality program he'd been on since his time at LSU, and preached the utility of it for QBs looking to bank mental reps and speed up their process.

Well, the Titans tracked that system down for themselves. And for this story, they very graciously let me come try it out. Here's everything I learned about the Titans new tech from speaking with Head Coach Brian Callahan and trying out the trainer for myself:

Using An NFL Virtual Reality Trainer

The setup is as pared-down as it could possibly be. There's a headset, a handheld controller, and an IPad with an app that pilots the program. It all fits into a padded carrying case, that can be taken anywhere in the facility or even sent home with a player to use. Place the headset on, and you're in an empty Nissan Stadium.

If you've ever played the consumer video game versions of a QB simulator, like on an Oculus headset, you may be wondering how the two compare. The bones of the software are indistinguishable. So what you're picturing in your head (or what you've googled for a frame of reference, which I recommend) is exactly what this looks like. So what's the difference? This is like the video game, but supremely customizable with all kinds of state secrets for player training.

I'm going to try to explain this experience as best I can in writing. A couple of things stood out right away: first, this is extremely cool tech. Second, playing QB is impossible. The program has difficulty settings that speed up or slow down the plays. I ran my first play on 1/3 speed. And believe it or not, I threw a touchdown! Now here are all the caveats: This thing isn't a throwing mechanics motion tracker. You merely flick your wrist in the general direction of the receiver you're targeting, and as far as I can tell, it's almost always a completion. So my "touchdown" was into double coverage to the tight end running up the seam. In a real game, it would have been a very dumb decision.

I explain all of that to say: that's not the point of this trainer. This is a custom, finely-tuned quarterback flight simulator. This is about banking infinitely more mental reps than you otherwise could in practice. It's about studying the playbook in a hands-on way, seeing what you'll see on the field, and getting a visual feel for what to expect. It's about speeding up your process so that the headset can act as a batting donut: get used to reading out a defense at 1.5x speed so that Sundays feel like slow motion.

The Coolest Things About NFL VR Training

There are a handful of additional fun tidbits I want to share, so I'll list them here:

• There is a one and a two-person setup. In one player mode, a QB can sit there and control everything in the headset. They dial up the plays and the settings with the controller on the virtual screen. In two player mode, a coach or teammate can co-pilot your practice from the IPad. They see everything you see on their screen, can change the settings, dial up the plays for you to have to react to in real time, and even pause the plays to talk through what's happening in frame-by-frame detail.
• Every play is from the Titans actual playbook. They regularly work with the company who runs the software to plug-in what they want their players to be able to practice, and can add whatever they'd like throughout the year. Nothing is basic madden plays or coverages.
• The level of customization goes all the way down to the finest details. You can program certain players into the game to practice against the stars you're going to face that week. You can plug in their statistical tendencies and strengths to get a more realistic look against the defense.
• Speaking of plugging in realistic defense, you can do that from a schematic standpoint too. Right now in the spring, these defenses are just base looks from different teams around the league. But in-season, you can plug in the exotic looks you expect to see from you opponents to get a more accurate feel for how Sunday will go. Anything from rotating coverage on the back end to simulated pressures and unique blitz packages up front can be simulated.

Setting Cam Ward Up With The Newest Tech

I also got the chance to speak with Brian Callahan about the Titans new system. He preached the utility of multiplying your mental reps outside of practice in a controlled environment, especially for a developing QB. “It enables a QB to get real processing mental reps. He can work the same play against six different coverages. He can essentially double his practice reps sitting on his couch. It’s got real-time disguises, it’s our own plays in our terminology, so he can verbally hear the call, repeat it, and then rep it. All while not taking any physical reps on his legs, arm or body.”

“Drafting Cam wasn’t a precursor to investing in it" he said. It turns out, the Titans coaching staff had been interested in adding this to their program long before Cam Ward was a part of the equation. "I had actually met with the company during my time in Cincinnati. Not every QB is into VR. Most veteran quarterbacks don’t see the need. But with the potential to bring in a young QB—with more guys using it in college—we did a lot of work on it this off-season. It felt like it would be worth our time and could only help."

This is something that was really hammered home during my experience: a ton of work over the past couple months has gone into getting it to where it is today, and they aren't done unlocking it's capability yet. “It was something I’d looked into previously, but Bo Hardegree lead the charge on the research. He went down to LSU to meet with a guy there, and talked to lots of people who have used it." 

After the meeting at LSU, Tennessee flew-in the company that runs the program for two different days of meetings to see it work for themselves. I was told they spent a combined 12+ hours with the team, asking questions and getting a feel for the system. "We wanted to really vet the benefits of it. Like, who would be doing the work? There’s lots of backend work required, so who would operate it? Was the product worth the investment? After that, we brought the company in to show more people and to ask more questions. It’s a really awesome product that we saw value in."

So what about Cam Ward specifically makes the Titans confident this training resource will be helpful in his development? “Cam expressed interest in it, which is the first step in it being a benefit" Callahan explained. "He had spoken to Jayden Daniels about it before. Ultimately, he’s going to exhaust every avenue he has that helps him improve that’s at his disposal. This is just one more tool to supplement his learning. It’s not just for quarterbacks, either.”

That part caught me off guard. I hadn't yet considered the utility for other positions. Who else could use it? “Pass protection for running backs: blitz pick-up and recognition. It’s not perfect for them yet, but it will be useful. I think in the future they will be able to replicate pass rush moves for defenders so offensive linemen can work against a defender for that week. But it’s not quite there yet.” I was even told they're working to get to a point where they could let receivers use it to feel out certain routes. Want to run a deep crosser against Cover 3? Here's what that will look like against this team.

Overall, I was pretty blown away. It's going to be fun following along with Cam Ward's development, a piece of which that will now be on a virtual field somewhere.

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