Brown, Henry working to stand out in crowded backfield

CLARKSVILLE (AP) ? Travis Henry remembers well a saying coach Phillip Fulmer used when he played at the University of Tennessee: The cream will rise to the top.

The Tennessee Titans are testing that theory with their running backs.

A team that enjoyed an eight-year run by Eddie George now have five running backs in training camp after failing to have even one player rush for 100 yards in a game in 2005.

There?s Chris Brown, the starter the past two seasons; Henry, second-round draft pick LenDale White; Jarrett Payton, son of the late Walter Payton, and seventh-round draft pick Quinton Ganther.

?This is a great bunch,? Henry said. ?But out of this bunch, somebody is going to rise to the top. I?m out here every day competing. I want to be the one to rise to the top.?

Coach Jeff Fisher is determined to return to the offensive style that helped his Titans go 26-6 in 1999 and 2000 by running the ball and playing keepaway. That is why the Titans stocked their training camp roster at that position.

The competition already has created drama.

Brown?s agent asked for a trade, then the three-year veteran reported. Damien Nash, a fifth-round pick out of Missouri last year, reported overweight and was released Monday.

But the starting job is Brown?s to lose. After missing six games over the last two seasons combined, he added 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason and worked himself into better shape to survive punishing hits with his upright running style.

He has averaged 4.3 yards per carry through 37 games. His production dropped to 851 yards last season from 1,067 yards in 2004, his first season replacing George as the starter.

?I always have room for improvement,? Brown said. ?I figured if I still can run, I was going to put on some weight. As long as I had my weight and my quickness, I?ve played at this weight before. I feel like I had to get back to it, and I feel better.?

Running backs coach Sherman Smith said Brown has been wrongly criticized for missing games with injuries.

?The guy turns an ankle, he sprains toes. That stuff happens in football. … This guy comes in, he misses no more games than most running backs in this league,? Smith said.

Brown?s health prompted the Titans to trade for Henry just before training camp last year. But the former Pro Bowler struggled to overcome an injury in which he tore ligaments in his right ankle at the end of the 2004 season.

He was suspended for four games by the NFL for a substance abuse violation and had only 335 yards in 2005.

Henry, still the all-time leading rusher at his alma mater, spent the offseason working himself back into shape. He worked five days a week on improving his flexibility, quickness and agility at an ex-teammate?s fitness center when not at the Titans.

He still has to work on his pass protection and passing routes, but Henry isn?t worrying about what the Titans might do if they think they have too many good running backs to keep at the end of the preseason.

?I put a lot of pressure on myself to play at a high level. I didn?t do that last year. I?ve got a lot to prove to myself as well as the fans. I want to prove to myself that I belong in this league, that I am one of the premier backs in this league,? Henry said.

White reported to camp weighing 227 pounds, well under the 252 he played at in the Rose Bowl in January. He was limited at minicamps by the torn hamstring that kept him from running for teams before the draft, but Smith said White has done a good job of picking up the offense.

How many running backs the Titans keep remains to be seen. They kept four running backs last season, and Smith cautioned not to forget Payton, who ran for 105 yards on 33 carries as a reserve in 2005.

?Everyone counts him out. But he?s someone everybody better keep an eye on because he?s a good player,? Smith said.