If you haven't subscribed to Texans All-Access on Spotify or Apple Podcasts yet, now's the time — this show is one of my favorites we've done all offseason.
John Harris was broadcasting from Las Vegas, and right away he had me cracking up with the story of running into a Texans fan from Waller, Texas at a casino blackjack table. The guy saw John's hat, John saw his. I love it. Texans fans are everywhere.
We got into the World Cup, and I had the chance to be at Reliant Stadium for Netherlands vs. Sweden on Saturday. "I think all of Houston was at Rice Village for the start of that thing," I told John.
The Dutch fan walk was something else — tens of thousands of people, all decked out in orange, and the energy was absolutely off the charts. My son Luke, who knows everything about the World Cup and every player on every roster, was with me for the game. Every seat was full 15 minutes before kickoff. It was an international spectacle right here in Houston.
The real heart of the show was two player interviews from our recent internal media days. DE Ali Gaye sat down with us, and his story just blew us away. He grew up in The Gambia playing soccer, came to the United States at 12 years old, and discovered American football in the eighth grade after walking past a practice field after science class. "Coach, what is that?" he asked. "This is football." In his mind, football meant the sport he grew up playing. "No, this is American football." He started playing and never looked back. Then, the summer before freshman year, he shot up from about 5'8" to 6'3". "My basketball coach was happy too," Ali told us, laughing. He talked about crediting Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. as mentors: "Even after I left, I would just take notes in how they were out there and try to play with the same type of intent." His goals for year four? "Finishing at the top of the rush, setting the edge and being more violent." Every day since that interview, Ali has walked over to John and me in the hallway, shaken our hands, looked us in the eye, and thanked us. That tells you everything about the kind of person he is.
Then we had CB Brandon Codrington, who told us he walked on at North Carolina Central with zero scholarship offers. "It goes back to freshman year in college, when you had to prove yourself to your teammates, your coaches, and really just show them that I'm meant to be here. And you're carrying that with you all the way through. Every day." Brandon talked about entering the Texans' secondary and seeing All-Pros and Pro Bowlers everywhere he looked: "You walk into a defensive backroom, and you look around, and you're like — All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl. It's a pretty stout room." He also dropped a surprise on us — he already owns a house in Houston. He'd been training here as an investment before the Texans ever called. "I had no clue that I would eventually be here," he said. "It all just worked out." Full circle.
We also broke down the latest around the NFL — Cam Jordan heading back to the Saints for one final season, the NFL Top 100 kicking off with Quenton Nelson at No. 99, Jeffery Simmons locking in a massive extension with Tennessee, and Joe Burrow sounding very confident about the Bengals heading into the fall.
Subscribe to Texans All-Access on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss a show — we're rolling all summer long through training camp and into the 2026 season.
