The next step: Mariani plays in Seattle

SEATTLE — The game of football has given Marc Mariani a lot of firsts in his young life.

From the first time playing tackle football to winning a Class A state championship with the Havre Blue Ponies in 2004, all the way to becoming the first Havre resident to be drafted into the National Football League, this is quite a list of firsts.

But on Saturday night at Quest Field in Seattle, Mariani will experience perhaps the biggest first of his life when he takes the field for the first time as an NFL player. Mariani and the Tennessee Titans will take on the Seattle Seahawks in the first preseason game of 2010 for both teams Saturday night at 8 p.m.

"Saturday night will be a dream come true," Mariani said. "I know that come game time, it's going to be a level of football I've never experienced, so of course, I'm anxious, even a little nervous. But I'm so excited and I'm ready to strap it up and get going in a real game."

The Titans have been practicing since July 31, so the entire team is chomping at the bit to get into a live-game situation. But being the first exhibition game of the season, starters and top players will play a quarter or less according to Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher. The early preseason games are about getting reps, getting into game shape, and perhaps more importantly, getting the rookies and younger players plenty of time on the field, getting them acclimated to game conditions in the NFL. And all of that adds up to Mariani likely playing quite a bit on Saturday night.

Mariani fans will likely see him get plenty of time both at receiver and returning both punts and kickoffs Saturday night. He'll likely play with backup quarterback Kerry Collins, as well as Chris Simms and Rusty Smith. Smith, like Mariani, is batteling for a job on the 53-man roster during training camp. Mariani has also been the primary punt returner so far in training camp, so he should see plenty of action there as well. It's been speculated that Mariani is in a battle with University of Southern California rookie Damian Williams for the job of No. 1 punt returner, but so far, Mariani has been handling most of the duties as Williams has been injured for much of training camp, and his status for Saturday night is questionable.

But no matter where he plays on Saturday night, Mariani will experience yet another step in a process that has taken him from Havre Middle School football all the way to the NFL, and he couldn't be more excited to put on a game-day uniform and see how he does.

"I'm ready, I'm just really excited," Mariani said. "We've been working really hard in practice, it's been going really well so far. So it's really exciting that we're finally going to get out on the field and play a game."

Indeed, Mariani has been one of the most talked-about players so far in Titans' camp. He's been making plays since the first practice and he's continued to catch the attention of the Nashville media, the Titans' diehard fans and, when fighting to make the 53-man roster, most importantly, his head coach.

"Well, he's versatile in that he can return kickoffs, return punts, and make a lot of plays at that level in their offense. Our scouts graded him and they had, as far as we can tell, an accurate grade on him. He's a smart kid and gets in the right place, and he's competitive, and he makes plays," Fisher said when asked about how Mariani's doing so far.

But as well as Mariani has played so far in training camp, Saturday night in Seattle will be a new test. Typically, rookies in Mariani's situation have to make big impressions during preseason games in order to keep the momentum they have built in practice. Making an NFL team is all about making plays, proving a player not only can play, but can actually help make a team better, and coaches evaluate and find out plenty during the four preseason games this month.

Never-the-less, Mariani is ready to take on the that challenge, and not only is he ready to play in his first professional game, but the location of the game has him even more excited. There will be a large contingent of Havre residents in the stands to support Mariani on Saturday, and most likely plenty of people from Missoula as well.

"It worked out to be the perfect situation," Mariani said. "I get to play my first game in Seattle, the closest town to Havre that has an NFL team. So it just worked out to be perfect and I'm just so excited for Saturday night."

Note: Fans can follow Mariani's progress, as he tries to make the Titans' 53-man roster all month long, with the Havre Daily News.