O-Line Coach Praises Quessenberry's Preparation, Performance, Perspective

Tackle should be an example, inspiration to others, Keith Carter says.

David Quessenberry’s performance in his first career start garnered praise from inside the Tennessee Titans for both his grit and tenacity.

The loudest praise yet came from offensive line coach Keith Carter.

“If David Quessenberry doesn't inspire you, and he's not a life lesson for you, for how to be

passionate about something, and get knocked down, and get back up, and maybe not be where

you want to be on a depth chart, but keep grinding, and grinding, and grinding, and just keep

believing in yourself in the process to see where you end up,” Carter said Tuesday. “If you don't see that and recognize that, then you're not looking hard enough.”

Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, he was one of two Titans who played all 72 snaps on offense. As the starter at left tackle, he played a part in the team’s 229 rushing yards and four touchdowns, kept Ryan Tannehill upright and created the holes for running back Derrick Henry.

A week earlier in the victory over the Ravens, Quessenberry played 18 snaps after Ty Sambrailo was injured.

“It was just really neat to see him get an opportunity last week and see it all come together for

him. He just keeps getting better and better,” Carter said. “He has just been on a steady incline.”

What Quessenberry offers the Titans isn’t just reliable offensive line play. He serves as a living

reminder for everyone about the value of sticking with something--even when it’s difficult.

Having battled injuries and cancer after the Houston Texans selected him in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Quessenberry could have hung up his cleats and no one would have questioned his reasons.

Yet, he returned to football. And through his refusal to quit – and a relationship with coach Mike Vrabel established during five years in Houston – he found his way to the Titans. The work ethic it took just to get to this point can inspire anyone he is around, Carter said.

“You could take a picture of Dave and put him at the start of all those in all our motivational

Speeches,” Carter said.

Now, for both the team and his position coach, Quessenberry is an example for the younger players on how to keep at it, even when things aren’t breaking their way. And if anyone knows about grinding their way up a depth chart it’s Quessenberry.

He spent the majority 2017, following his recovery from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, on Houston’s practice squad but appeared in two games – the first two games of his career – as a reserve. After that, he spent a year on the Titans practice squad before he finally appeared in a game for Tennessee.

His first career start may have been long overdue, but his attitude hasn’t wavered, even in the face of trials.

“He is the poster child for why you coach,” Carter said. “He's been through so much but his persistence and passion is unmatched. He's going to have a positive attitude, and he's going to work his butt off. And so, he's kind of always that beacon of hope and energy because his whole

process and the whole way he views life and attacks each day is infectious.”