Tennessee Titans football training camp observations: Here's the quarterback who surprised

As the field got smaller, Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis came through bigger than he has before.

The Titans put on full pads for the first time this training camp and primarily worked on red zone drills in team and 7-on-7 periods Monday. The shrunken field did the defense plenty of favors, leading to pass breakups, tipped balls and stuffed runs when the first and second units were on the field.

But when Levis came on to lead the third team, something different happened altogether. Between 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, he completed six of his seven pass attempts and had five touchdowns.

He threw touchdowns to tight end Justin Rigg, receiver Tre'Shaun Harrison and receiver Reggie Roberson on his first three attempts and kept things going with touchdowns to receiver Racey McMath and Roberson on his last two passes. The touchdown to McMath was the lone pass he attempted against the second team.

All five of his touchdowns came on in-breaking routes where he was able to find targets crossing into the middle of the end zone through tight windows. This success came after he ended Saturday's practice on a positive note too; finishing 11-on-11 periods by completing his last five passes.

The rookie second-round pick from Kentucky is still competing for time with veteran Ryan Tannehill and second-year passer Malik Willis. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he has been pleased by Levis' growth and by the competition with Willis.

"They'll both have opportunities with the (second and third units)," Vrabel said. "I like where both of them are at. I guess it's nice to have two young guys here to work with."

Here are more of The Tennessean's observations from Monday's practice.

Tennessee Titans training camp observations: July 31

• Finishing thoughts on the quarterbacks: Tannehill threw two official touchdowns and a third on a play that likely would've been blown dead for a sack in live action. Willis threw two touchdowns and rushed for two more. After practice, Vrabel said one of the areas the defense needs to work on is containing scrambling quarterbacks up the middle after Willis and Tannehill both had success escaping when pass lanes weren't available.

• The highlight of the day might've been Tannehill's unofficial touchdown. He stepped up to avoid being sandwiched between Arden Key and Harold Landry and lofted a ball to the back of the end zone where second-year receiver Treylon Burks crashed upward and snagged the ball with one hand, landing inbound for the score. It was Burks' second-straight practice with a theatrical catch; he made a diving grab Saturday in individual periods.

• The defensive highlight of the day came when cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting jumped in front of a pass targeted to receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone and intercepted it. It was Murphy-Bunting's first interception of training camp, showing off the talents that led to the Titans signing him in free agency. Fellow cornerback Kristian Fulton also made a really nice pass breakup on an out route against Hopkins on the first play of 11-on-11 drills.

• With Caleb Farley on the physically unable to perform list and Josh Thompson on the non-football injury list, there's a chance multiple undrafted free agent defensive backs could make the 53-man roster, or at the very least contend for practice squad spots. UDFAs like Mike Brown and Armani Marsh have been getting elevated opportunities throughout camp, especially Monday, while Nashville native and Hillsboro alum Matthew Jackson made a nice play to break up the pass on Levis' lone incompletion Monday.

• Time for your daily right tackle update: Jamarco Jones and Chris Hubbard continued to rotate first- and second-team reps. Zack Johnson took tackle reps with the second team as well.

• Kicker Caleb Shudak took all of the live reps Monday. He was 7-for-8 with a long of 54 yards, and his one miss coming from about 37 yards.

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One video before we go

The Titans' kids club was in attendance for Monday's practice, meaning some of the team's youngest fans got to stick around afterward and get their hats and jerseys signed by their favorite Titans. Players like Levis and Willis stuck around a long while, but no one was swarmed quite like running back Derrick Henry, unsurprisingly. Henry obliged with as many autographs as he could, and a "Derrick! Derrick!" chant even broke out at one point.

Here's a glimpse at Henry's autograph signing form.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans football training camp observations: Will Levis' best day yet