The Vince Young era officially begins Sunday.
The Titans, who have struggled to an 0-3 start, will give their quarterback of the future his first NFL start against the Dallas Cowboys at LP Field.
Kickoff is noon. The game will be televised on WZTV-17.
“I feel real comfortable,” Young said Friday. “I feel like I had a good week of practice. I like the scheme that we have, it is pretty cool. Now we just have to go out there and execute as an offense. Overall, we just have to go out there and play ball.’’
Young replaces veteran Kerry Collins, who joined the Titans late in the preseason and has thrown six interceptions and just one touchdown.
Young played in the Titans’ first two games, against the Jets and Chargers, but did not see action last week in a 13-10 loss to the Dolphins as Collins showed some improvement.
The former University of Texas star and third overall pick of this year’s NFL Draft is 10-of-23 passing for 133 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also has five rushes for 24 yards.
“I think at first his head might have been spinning a little bit, but he settled down really quickly,’’ Titans receiver Drew Bennett said. “He's picked up the offense really well, and I think everybody thinks he's on the brink of being a really great player.’’
Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow said Young has made great strides, “mainly because he's very determined to be a great football player. He studies, he works, and he's disciplined. He has great leadership skills. If you're willing to work at it like he is, you continue to get better.’’
On Monday, Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said Collins would start against Dallas (1-1), which is coming off a bye week.
But it became clear during practices that the Titans planned to go with Young, who worked with the starters and handled the majority of the reps each day. Collins, meanwhile, worked primarily with the scout team.
Practices are open to the media, but Fisher threatened to close them if any outlet reported the division of practice-field work between Young and Collins before Saturday.
Media covering practice are generally prohibited by the team from reporting certain details that could impact competitive advantages.
Less than a third of NFL teams have open practices
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