Besides athleticism, an athlete should demonstrate dedication to his work if he wishes to put a positive mark on his name, and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks has tried to stick to the notion by going above and beyond to overcome a significant travel delay at the team’s OTAs by hiring a private pilot.
After getting drafted by Tennessee in the first round of the NFL Draft 2022, Burks is heading to the second season as a Pro. The young star couldn’t really live up to the buzz around him as he missed six games due to turf toe, finishing his first season with 33 catches, 444 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
Why did Treylon Burks have to hire a private pilot to reach OTA?
The Titans WR was staying at his home in Arkansas before organized team activities started on Monday. Going back to the team’s facility in Nashville on time became troublesome for him as his flight, a connecting trip from Arkansas to Dallas, was delayed, per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky.
The second-year pro searched for a rental car, however, that too became difficult for him as Walmart had leased out every rental car in the area till Thursday.
Finding no other way, the WR reached out to his agent J.R. Carroll and said he doesn’t want to miss the OTA and asked Carroll to get him to the Titans facilities by Monday morning at 8 a.m.
“I am not missing camp for any reason, whatever it takes to get me there,” he told his agent, per Kuharsky.
What did Treylon do to do to overcome the travel delay?
Following the Arkansas native’s call, his agent contacted five private pilots, none of whom were agreeing to fly him to Nashville on a Sunday night. Luckily, a savior pilot named Zach Davis agreed to make the journey early Monday morning. The 23-year-old and Carroll met him at 5 a.m. and waited for the sun to rise to start the flight.
“As soon as the sun broke the horizon they took off for Nashville in this plane whose prop was smaller than Treylon’s wingspan. Pilot said (Burks) slept the whole way and wasn’t the least bit nervous”, his agent said.
Treylon’s immediate move to go the extra mile to overcome adversity demonstrates his strong work ethic and unwavering commitment to the team. It remains to be seen if he can translate this dedication into athletic prowess and be able to truly build a rapport with Tennessee veteran QB Ryan Tannehill.
