NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Undrafted rookie Nick DeLuca out of North Dakota State is still listed as a linebacker on the Titans roster.
He was part of a Bison unit that finished No. 1 in total defense in FCS, allowing only 237.4 yards a game and he was the only player at his level of college football to be nominated for the prestigious Butkus Award.
But his career as a defender is over, at least for now, as the Titans have flipped him to tight end.
"He's doing fine, he's learning," Mike Vrabel said. "You try to put the player in the best position to help the team and to help himself. We felt that Nick’s best chance to help us and move forward this year is as a tight end. That conversation took about 20 seconds. It was like, 'Whatever you need for me to do, I'm going to go to the tight end meeting right now and just tell me where to go.'
"That's the type of attitude that we want everybody in this organization to have."
Delanie Walker got a day off Saturday and some other tight ends had it rough. Luke Stocker twice fumbled after making a catch, as did Ethan Wolf.
I tracked down DeLuca on Friday to chat about the change.