It's not abnormal for offensive skill players to develop a certain affinity for the quarterback they most recently and most often have gone to battle with.
For Tennessee Titans wide receivers Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter, that quarterback is Zach Mettenberger.
Unfortunately for the trio of young Tennessee guns, the selection of quarterback Marcus Mariota at the second-overall slot in the 2015 NFL Draft means that Mettenberger is likely to be relegated to the bench for the remainder of his time in Tennessee and Wright and Hunter must now develop a rapport with a new potential franchise signal-caller.
Despite the release of a video that seems to depict Wright and Hunter reacting negatively to the selection of Mariota - which is embedded below - Wright recently said that he wasn't, in fact, upset with the pick.
"I have no reason to be upset," Wright said, via the Tennessean. "Me personally, I have nothing against Marcus Mariota. I have nothing against the pick. Period. My reaction was like that because to me, it was like someone like Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin getting picked. You knew who it was going to be, so there was nothing to get excited about it. Our fans, they're the ones who can get excited. I am too old to be jumping up and down and hollering. I do that every day, and lift weights."
While that's likely Wright just attempting to cover up his true feelings - Hunter, per the Tennessean, tweeted "The reason we reacted like we did was bc we already knew what pick we were getting. We are very excited to have Marcus with us. He's a (part) of the Titans family" after the video went viral, but has since deleted it - it's hard to blame him for having such a visceral response to the realization that Mettenberger, the quarterback with which he had developed such a close bond, will no longer be tossing him passes.
Luckily for Wright and Hunter, according to Mariota's former head coach at Oregon, Mark Helfrich, the dual-threat quarterback will be endearing himself to Titans players and fans in Tennessee in short order.
"Marcus is a no-skeletons guy, and oh by the way, he's a really good football player,'' Helfrich said, per a separate report from the Tennessean. "He's a phenomenally talented guy physically; he's extremely gifted from a natural ability standpoint. But he loves to work and he loves to compete; he loves to practice.
"His personality, that's the biggest (misconception) people have about him. People mistake humility for weakness, or for lack of competitiveness. Those things couldn't be further from the truth. I'm telling you that guy is extremely confident and a competitor that just goes about his business. ... Yeah, he was quiet - about four years ago. But he has transformed in a good way. He is a very assertive leader; he is an unbelievable competitor that people don't see."
That's great news for Titans fans forced to endure a string of abhorrent seasons marked most notably by absolutely abysmal quarterback play.
Mettenberger provided a small modicum of hope last season - it seems Mariota may be ready to provide a whole lot more, despite the immediate concerns of Wright and Hunter, which can be seen below.
