NASHVILLE — Jerry Gray finally is about to install his own defensive schemes with the Tennessee Titans.

Thanks to the NFL lockout last year, Gray had no offseason as the new defensive coordinator to make changes. So Gray said Thursday he just trimmed the fat out of what the Titans had used the year before and managed to squeeze out a unit that ranked eighth in the league in fewest points allowed.

Now he’s making sure to tailor his scheme to new players like end Kamerion Wimbley and returning players like linebacker Akeem Ayers. He also has plenty of competition to replace Cortland Finnegan at cornerback.

What exactly does he have in store? Gray’s not saying, though getting to the quarterback is a priority after a measly 28 sacks in 2011.

“We know we got things to work on,” Ayers said. “We know we didn’t do our best job at getting to the quarterback and everybody knows that. The guy, the d-linemen, linebackers who rush the quarterback we know that we’ve got to do better at that. So that’s just motivation to work harder this offseason.”

Gray and a few Titans spoke Thursday after their latest session in the offseason program. Nobody has seen just what Gray has in store for them yet because they are all working on their individual technique and conditioning still. The team’s first organized team session is the last week of May.

“Last year throughout the season certain things he would say that we couldn’t run just yet,” cornerback Jason McCourty said. “We had to get an offseason to really teach it so we can master it before we go out on Sundays and get a chance to run it. So I’m excited about that, just to see the different nuances he’s going to add to the defense and let guys use their athletic ability and make plays.”

Gray plans to add a lot, using some schemes he used in Buffalo and in Washington.

“So we’re kind of tailoring this defense to the players we have, not to what we had, which was under the gun, last year,” Gray said.

The Titans’ biggest offseason addition came with the signing of Wimbley. The 6-foot-4 Wimbley will play end for the Titans, and he has 42.5 career sacks. Gray compares Wimbley to Chris Clemons, who came to Seattle a couple years ago and had 12.5 sacks in helping the Seahawks just miss the NFC championship game.

They also expect Wimbley to help end Derrick Morgan, the 16th pick overall in 2010 who was busy recovering from a torn ACL this time last year.

“And Wimbley, your job is to get Morgan to get that double-team off for you, to get that chip off for you because if you don’t, they’ll chip him the whole year,” Gray said. “That’s what you do with a good football team. You can’t just think, ‘I’m going to be the best player and not help someone else get better.’”

Coach Mike Munchak also hired Keith Millard, the 1989 Defensive Player of the Year, as a pass rush specialist this offseason, and he’s been busy working with Ayers. The linebacker had plenty of big plays in college at UCLA, but he had only two sacks and seven quarterback pressures despite starting all 16 games as a rookie.

Ayers said Millard has been working on technique with him while studying the likes of Mario Williams and Dwight Freeney for tips on how to adjust his angle of attack, rush off the snap and using his hands better.

“I was doing a lot of things completely wrong,” Ayers said.

The Titans used five of their seven draft picks on defense, and Ayers said he likes the speed of fellow linebacker Zach Brown, the second-round pick out of North Carolina. The Titans also added tackle Mike Martin of Michigan and end Scott Solomon of Rice.

McCourty now finds himself as the veteran in the cornerback group with Finnegan now playing in St. Louis. Alterraun Verner, who has started 15 games in his first two seasons, leads the group vying to fill that open job. That pack includes Tommie Campbell, a seventh-round pick out of Division II California (Pa.), Ryan Mouton coming off a torn Achilles tendon, Chris Hawkins and fourth-round pick Coty Sensabaugh.

Gray called the 6-3 Campbell their second-best technique cornerback as of now who is busy working hard daily to improve. McCourty said the sky is the limit for Campbell.

“Tommie has attributes you just can’t teach,” McCourty said. “A guy like him at corner being able to press with his arm length and as far as he is, it’s going to be a sight to see when he gets out there.”

That’s just part of what Gray is waiting to see.

The Tennessee Titans are scheduled to host free-agent safeties Yeremiah Bell and Chris Crocker on Tuesday, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports.

Bell, 34, has spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Eastern Kentucky. Bell led the Dolphins in tackles in each of the last four seasons and was named to the 2009 AFC Pro Bowl roster, but the Dolphins released him March 19 for salary-cap reasons.

Crocker also entered the NFL in 2003, with the Cleveland Browns selecting him in the third round out of Marshall. Crocker has 476 tackles, 13 sacks and 10 interceptions in a 126-game career with the Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals, where he has spent the last four seasons.

First-year Titans secondary coach Brett Maxie coached Crocker in Atlanta in 2006 and tutored Crocker and Bell with the 2007 Dolphins.

The Titans re-signed Jordan Babineaux and placed the franchise tag on Michael Griffin, but the team lacks depth behind those two projected starters. Griffin has yet to sign his $6.212 million tender, and adding an experienced safety to the roster would guard against a potential training-camp holdout.

UPDATE: Bell also is scheduled to meet with the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday, according to ESPN.

HAMPTON — For Jake Locker, being quarterback for the Tennessee Titans means being a good representative on and off the field.

Growing up in the small town of Ferndale, Wash., the way he acts off the field, staying humble, means as much to him as what he does on field.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good people around me,” Locker said Wednesday during an appearance with the 14th annual Titans Caravan at Hampton Elementary School. “They’ve helped me get to this point. It would be disrespectful to them if I took credit for something if it’s not due. I’m thankful to have this opportunity and to be in the situation I’m in.”

The 23-year-old is currently battling veteran Matt Hasslebeck to be the Titans’ starting quarterback. Locker, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, is looked at as the future face of the franchise, while Hasslebeck is a proven commodity, throwing for over 3,500 yards last season. However the quarterback competition works out, Locker promises to make the best of it and still compete.

He has the same response to fans, media, coaches or the team’s executives when asked why he deserves to be the starter.

“I just work as hard as I can, and day in and day out, you’re going to get the best out of me,” he said. “That’s what I tell anybody when they ask me why they should choose me, or why I might be a better option than somebody else.

“I can’t talk about anybody else. I don’t know what drives them, but I know what makes me go and what I can bring to the table. At the end of the day, I hope that’s enough for them.”

It was an awkward situation for both Locker and Hasslebeck earlier in the year when Titans owner Bud Adams openly courted free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning. Now, that Manning has moved on to the Denver Broncos, Locker said the Titans’ signal callers are ready to put the episode behind them.

“I think Peyton’s happy where he is, and we’re happy that our quarterback room involves who it does,” Locker said. “We’re excited going forward.”

Looking ahead has come easy for Locker, who was a Parade All-American in high school after leading Ferndale to a 14-0 record and a state championship in 2005. That season, which Locker still calls his best football memory, included a ratio of 25 touchdowns against just three interceptions. His performance brought college offers from all over the country before Locker committed to the University of Washington.

The Washington program was downtrodden at the time and it only got worse his first couple of years on campus. The Huskies finished with an 0-12 record his sophomore year, only to see Locker lead them to back-to-back wins over Southern California his junior and senior seasons. The Huskies also posted back-to-back victories in the Apple Cup rivalry over Washington State.

The biggest upset was saved for last, when Locker led Washington to a 19-7 victory over heavily favored Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

It was little surprise when the Titans made him their first-round draft pick. As a rookie, he made appearances in five games where he completed 34 of 66 passes for 542 yards, and threw four touchdowns with no interceptions.

While the competitor in him wanted to play more, Locker saw last season as a chance to gain valuable experience.

“It’s exciting any time you have the opportunity to get on the field,” Locker said. “But, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn from Matt, to try to take in as much as I could. He hasn’t been in the league 13 years by chance. He has figured out how to be successful at this level. To learn from a guy like that, not a lot of guys get that opportunity, so I was thankful for it.”

Beyond his own role, Locker believes this could be a banner year for the Titans. In the AFC South, Indianapolis begins the post-Manning era with No. 1 draft pick, Andrew Luck. The Jacksonville Jaguars changed coaches in the middle of last season, and Locker feels the Titans match up well with defending champion Houston.

“Winning the division is the goal every year because if you win the division, you know you’re in the playoffs,” he said. “Especially when it’s a division like ours with a lot of young talent in it, it’s one we could start to control now. Our goal is to be good for years to come.”

With All-Pro running back Chris Johnson scheduled to go through training camp, and key receiver Kenny Britt healthy, it could be a banner year for the Titans’ offense. As a team, Locker looks back to games like a season-opening 16-14 loss to Jacksonville and other losses to Atlanta and New Orleans, and sees where Tennessee needs to improve most under second-year head coach Mike Munchak.

“We lost a few really close games last year,” he said. “To be successful, we have to find ways to close those games out. That’s the difference between going 11-5 or 9-7 like we did. If we can find ways to win those games, your season is completely different.”

When it doesn’t happen, a team has to be ready to adjust. It’s no different than what Locker used to see every Sunday with Brett Favre, his favorite player growing up. Watching Favre scramble out of the pocket and make plays was only part of the appeal. Most of all, Locker tries to bring the same passion to the game as the Packers legend.

“I grew up a fan of Brett Favre, and you could always tell his love of the game,” Locker said. “You could see that every Sunday, and that’s something I have respect for. We’re very fortunate to play this game for a living, and you should have fun and enjoy doing it.”