Catching up with Jason Gesser: Titans QB still close to 'home'

Jason Gesser may be in Tennessee as an NFL rookie, but he still keeps in close touch with his former Washington State teammates in Pullman.

The Titans' No. 3 quarterback said he regularly checks in with friends on the team such as Al Genatone, Devard Darling, Erik Coleman and Matt Kegel.

Especially Kegel.

"I usually call him the day before the (WSU) game or the day after the game," he said.

"I think Matt is getting used to being 'the guy,' " Gesser continued in a telephone interview from Nashville. "As time goes on, he's going to get better and better."

Gesser likes what he sees in the WSU quarterbacking future, too. He predicts that Josh Swogger, a redshirt freshman and Kegel's backup this season, "is going to be one of the greatest quarterbacks" in WSU history.

That list of great Cougars quarterbacks includes Gesser, who holds all-time WSU records for career completions (611), passing yards (8,830), touchdown passes (70) and total-offense yards (9,007).

Gesser made the Tennessee roster as an undrafted free agent.

He appeared in all four of Tennessee's preseason games and completed 10 of 14 passes for 128 yards.

Gesser said his mindset in the preseason games was to just play football and not worry about making mistakes.

"That's what football is — playing football and having fun," he said. "You try to let what you learned in practice take over."

Gesser hasn't played in either of the Titans' two regular-season games, a win over Oakland and a loss to Indianapolis.

The Titans had four quarterbacks in camp and cut veteran backup Neil O'Donnell, who had been in the NFL 13 seasons.

Steve McNair is the Titans' starter; Billy Volek, a four-year veteran from Fresno State who played well in preseason, is the backup. The fact Volek played well in August may have helped Gesser make the team.

Gesser said he didn't know until the final day whether he would survive the last cut.

"I went in and found out and it was a relief and I was happy, but you can't really say anything or show anything."

That's because it's a day of bitter disappointment for those who don't survive the final cut.

Gesser's Titans teammates include ex-Cougars Rien Long — last year's Outland Trophy winner who is a backup defensive tackle — and free safety Lamont Thompson, who was a Cincinnati Bengal last season.

Another Northwest player with the Titans is offensive lineman Tom Ackerman, a Nooksack Valley High School grad who played at Eastern Washington.

Gesser said he has married his college girlfriend, WSU volleyball player Kali Surplus, but said the formal wedding — "white dress and cake and all that stuff" — won't be until March in Hawaii.

That will be after football season. For the time being, Gesser is on one team (Titans) and a super-fan of another (Cougars).

"If they had just held on to that lead at Notre Dame, everything would be fine and dandy," he said.