Karl Klugof Caledonia is making an impact as a rookie defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans in training camp.
Klug was a fifth-round draft choice out of Iowa and he has appeared in all three preseason games for the Titans. He started the preseason opener against the Vikings.
"To be honest, I was a little surprised when I started against Minnesota," Klug said. "I didn't find out until two minutes before the game and they just told me to go out there."
So far Klug has four tackles and one pass defended in the three games.
"I think I could have been a little more productive, so it's been a little disappointing," Klug said, summing up his preseason performance.
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But the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder has made the Titans take notice of his abilities. Klug said he is a second-string defensive tackle and is on the first string when the team goes to the nickel package in passing situations. He said he has been able to get a grasp on the Chargers' defensive playbook quite quickly.
"It was a bigger adjustment going to the big playbook in college," he said.
On Monday the Titans cut defensive tackle Jovan Haye, who started 15 games for Tennessee in 2009. That would appear to make Klug a safe bet to earn a spot on the roster this season.
"I don't want to speak too soon, but they cut a guy who was a starter," Klug said. "You can't get too comfortable. I still have to go out and prove myself on Thursday (in the final preseason game)."
The Titans close preseason play at New Orleans on Thursday. They play at Jacksonville on Sept. 11 in the season opener.
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Rochester's Isaac Odim'shopes of earning a spot with the San Diego Chargers seems to have taken a hit.
Odim, a running back, began the preseason with four carries for 6 yards. But he did not have a single carry in each of the past two games. The Chargers were scheduled to make their first round of cuts today and they had six running backs with at least one carry in this past weekend's 34-31 win over Arizona.
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Odim is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Minnesota Duluth. If he doesn't earn a spot on the 53-man roster, he could still earn a berth on the practice squad. But that seems unlikely if he does not survive the first round of cuts, which puts teams down to 80 players.
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Vikings cornerback Marcus Sherelsof Rochester continues to make plays in the secondary in his quest to earn a roster spot.
Sherels, a second-year player who was on the practice squad a year ago, had a nice pass breakup in Saturday's home loss to Dallas. He also returned two punts for two yards and kickoff for 23 yards.
Sherels leads the Vikings with six punt returns in the preseason and has a 4.7 average. On defense, he has seven tackles. He also has the team's lone interception of the preseason, which he returned 64 yards for a touchdown in the second game against Seattle.
Sherels is in the battle for the fourth-sixth cornerback range with the Vikings. Antonie Winfield, Cedric Griffinand Chris Cookare the top three cornerbacks are all are locks to make the team. Sherels is in the next tier and battling Asher Allenand rookie Brandon Burton. The Vikings could keep all six, but others are still in the mix.
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The U.S. Open tennis tournament began on Monday in New York with singles play.
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Rochester tennis pro Eric Butoracwas paired with Jean-Julien Rojerin men's doubles.
Butorac and Rojer are the No. 8 seed and will face Grigor Dimitrovof Bulgaria and Dmitry Tursunovof Russia in the first round.
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When Rochester's Donna Gathje-Muellerwas running in the two-day Ragnar Relays two weekends ago, which featured 12 members on a team running for a combined 192 miles, she thought a lot about her father.
Ronald Gathje, 82, was in the process of a three-year battle against cancer. It was a battle he lost last Wednesday as he died at his home in Rochester.
Two of Ronald's sons ( Jimand Steve Gathje) along with two of his granddaughters ( Kristie Muellerand Katie Stinson) also ran in the Ragnar Relays for the PDQ team, which placed 42nd out of 280 teams.
