Week two of OTA's is in progress and Wednesday's session felt almost like a training camp practice. Almost.
Upon arrival, it was impossible not to notice the amount of orange shirts that players, coaches and support staff wore on a day the Texans announced a $400,000 donation to the Robb School Memorial Fund, providing assistance in the aftermath of last week's horrific shooting.
The 'Wear Orange' tribute originated seven years ago on what would have been the 18th birthday of high school student Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed on a Chicago playground. Texans players led the effort by donating $200,000. Everyone in the organization will wear orange on Friday for the 8th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
"For us to come together and for the McNair family to match us, it's unbelievable," said TE Brevin Jordan. "We're going to make sure we do whatever we can to make sure the families feel the love and support they need."
Jordan and his teammates were also inspired by the fact that Texans Director of Player Care and Sports Medicine Roland Ramirez hails from Uvalde.
On the field, the Texans dealt with Training Camp-like weather as they navigated through drills, with two weeks to go until their summer break. Even though they won't be working out as a squad at the Houston Methodist Training Center during that time, they'll be getting together on their own, like Brevin Jordan and his quarterback.
"I'm going to be with Davis Mills, running routes, wherever he is at," said the tight end.
As for practice, there were some eye-popping catches, excellent pass break ups, some plays that both sides would want back and an array of encouraging-for-OTAs running back plays.
With both sides of the ball striving to improve, it's fun to watch the competition in pass coverage. It's also interesting to watch line play and determine if a play would have resulted in a sack or stuff in live action.
You're hoping the old 'iron sharpens iron' cliché applies and the team is elevating its overall play. It's clear there are players who are upping their game on a week-to-week basis. It's also clear that there is a lot more overall talent on the roster from what we saw a year ago.
In two weeks, it'll be time to set the countdown clock for camp. The remaining sessions are important to get as much knowledge and muscle memory equity deposited as possible so everybody can hit the ground running in late July. We're less than two months from the start of camp, and time flies in the summertime.
The Texans are donating $400,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund, which will provide financial assistance directly to the community. Texans players led the donation effort, coming together to give $200,000 for monetary aid and wellness support through the local fund. In support of the players' and football operations staff's generosity, the organization is matching their gift.