Tennessee Titans Throwback Thursday: Frank Wycheck

Here we are – training camp is set to start in the coming days, and I’m ready to officially declare this offseason over with. It’s time to shift gears and start talking about the 2021 season as it quickly approaches. So, this will be the final edition of Tennessee Titans Throwback Thursday for 2021, and I couldn’t think of a better spot to let this column rest until next summer. Today, I’m going to be looking back at a Titans legend – tight end Frank Wycheck.

The early years of the Titans’ days here in Nashville are often looked back upon fondly. While we’re seeing another boom period in Titans football history on the field now with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, that era of Titans football back in the late 90s and early 2000s is considered by many to be the golden era of Titans football. And, while Steve McNair and Eddie George rightfully get their fair share of the adulation in this town, for Wycheck, it’s a different kind of appreciation. Wycheck has been a man of the people – he always felt like one of us out there…the blue collar worker just showing up to the job with his lunch pail. It made him relatable, and it made us love him.

Wycheck was born and raised in Philly, and that tough, hard-nosed Philadelphia mindset found its way of showing up in conversations on The Wakeup Zone, on which Wycheck joined Kevin Ingram and Mark Howard as a staple of Nashville’s sports talk history, running on 104.5 The Zone for years. He played college ball at the University of Maryland, where he caught 134 balls for 1,183 yards – they even played him some at tailback, where he posted a 162-yard game against Clemson. Wycheck would go on to become a sixth round draft pick of Washington in 1993. After he got popped for anabolic steroids, Washington released him in 1995, and that’s where he enters the lore of Titans history. Then the Houston Oilers, they signed Wycheck, and he immediately took to the franchise while the franchise’s fans took to him.

He would go on to make three Pro Bowls as an Oiler/Titan (1998, 1999, 2000), and earned 2nd Team All-Pro honors in 2000. There for awhile, he was the leading receiver for the Titans. In a way, Wycheck was a little ahead of his time. He retired in 2003, not too long before the tight end position began to transform into the athletic receiving threat that it is today. At the time he passed 500 catches, there weren’t too many tight ends that had done it before. He was a credible receiving threat at a time when the position was still largely considered a sixth offensive lineman. Plus, you could always throw Wycheck out there on a trick play to throw the ball and trust him to get the job done. Which, of course, brings me to the Music City Miracle – something you can’t NOT mention when you’re talking about Wycheck. It’s the most legendary play in Titans history – when the Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills in the wild card round en route to a Super Bowl. Here’s a refresher from Wikipedia if you need it:

“After the Bills had taken a 16–15 lead on a field goal with 16 seconds remaining in the game, on the ensuing kickoff return, Titans tight end Frank Wycheck threw a lateral pass across the field to Kevin Dyson, who then ran 75 yards to score the winning touchdown to earn a 22–16 victory.”

The fact that this play is still shown in playoff highlight packages today is a testament to just how incredible it was. The adoration that Wycheck earned stuck around well after his playing time with the Titans ended. After football, Wycheck would go on to get involved in the pro wrestling world in addition to his broadcasting gigs. TNA Wrestling is based out of Nashville, and made for the perfect home for Wycheck to explore one of his strongest passions. I was actually at the Slammiversary event on which Wycheck teamed with Jerry Lynn to take on “The Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm and Ron Killings. Wycheck was a natural, and I’ll never forget the roar of the crowd when he hit that piledriver to pick up the win. As far as athletes crossing over into the wrestling world, Wycheck’s run was about as good as it gets. My cohost, Outspoken Owen Reed, and I got into the Titans history in pro wrestling on a recent episode of The Unofficial Titans Podcast. You can listen to that embedded below if you’re so inclined.

Ultimately, when I think about Frank Wycheck, I think about the glory days of Titans football. It brings back fond memories, sure, but it’s his real man-of-the-people demeanor that made Wycheck such a legend in Nashville. I’ve often said that Steve, Eddie, and Pekka Rinne have three of the four spots locked up on the Nashville sports Mount Rushmore. While Derrick Henry is beginning to make a strong case for that fourth spot, I think Wycheck is at least in the discussion with a few others. The fact that he was so likable and relatable and the fact that he was always there for the community is the real legacy that Wycheck has in this town.

Career stat line:

• Titans: 482 receptions, 4,958 receiving yards, 27 touchdowns
• NFL: 505 receptions, 5,126 receiving yards, 28 touchdowns

TENNESSEE TITANS THROWBACK THURSDAY ARCHIVES

• Drew Bennett
• Blaine Bishop
• Keith Bulluck
• Eddie George
• Michael Griffin
• Lavelle Hawkins
• Albert Haynesworth
• Chris Henry
• Chris Hope
• Justin Hunter
• Brandon Jones
• Derrick Mason
• Dexter McCluster
• Steve McNair
• Chris Palmer
• Jarrett Payton
• Myron Rolle
• Samari Rolle
• Alterraun Verner
• Ken Whisenhunt
• LenDale White
• Vince Young

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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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