They were called the Jalen Rules.
Yes, just like the famous rules that the NBA's Detroit Pistons created to stop the greatest player of all-time Michael Jordan - the Jordan Rules, the 2021 Baylor Bears defense had rules. But they weren't aimed at stopping Jalen Pitre. They were designed to unleash the football beast within one of the most beloved players in school history.
"We came up with the Jalen Rules" Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda told me at the Big 12 Media Days in 2023. When I asked him about Pitre, Aranda's face contorted five different ways. Then with a smile he reiterated how much Jalen meant to the Bears defense, the Bears program and Aranda himself. Aranda utilized a way for Jalen's instincts to shine. In 2021, Pitre was an absolute menace: the Jalen Rules allowed him to just go…just play…just be him. He rewarded Baylor and Aranda with one of the greatest defensive seasons in Bears history. But that 2021 campaign also created questions for NFL teams.
Was he a linebacker?
A safety?
A nickel?
A hybrid?
Where do teams play him?
How does a team maximize his value?
It may have taken the Texans a couple of seasons, but they found Pitre's spot, much like Baylor did.
As a rookie in 2022, he played both safety spots and turned in one of the most productive years in recent memory. But he'll tell you he missed too many tackles that same year. That said, the future was clearly bright.
In 2023, under new head coach/defensive play caller DeMeco Ryans, Pitre played a more traditional safety position. It was clear he was thinking through responsibilities and the sort, learning how to play as a safety along the way. After a difficult game against the Browns, Pitre locked in for the stretch run and played his best football of that season, in my estimation.
But things have a funny way of working out.
In the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Texans drafted Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter. Throughout Draft season, there was a ton of talk that Lassiter would play inside at the nickel position, as many thought that would be his best position. But by the second week of OTAs, it was easy to see the Texans needed Lassiter at perimeter corner opposite All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr.
So, okay, the defensive coaches asked themselves, if we put Kamari inside, who plays nickel?
Jalen Pitre.
I remember being at practice that day of OTAs and it was the first thing that I saw and I remember thinking two things.
- Man, they think Kamari can be really good and that's dead-on.
- The Jalen Rules.
Now, I knew that DeMeco's defense wouldn't completely revolve around Jalen's actions at his nickel spot as they did at Baylor (the Jalen Rules), but I also knew that DeMeco and this Texans defensive coaching staff would be able to unleash the relentless young Houstonian.
Did they ever?!?
Pitre was such a perfect piece in the Texans' aggressive run defense, fitting in gaps wonderfully like a DL or LB. He was more patient, in all facets, with better eyes and even more discipline in everything he did. He lit up anything in a different colored jersey…often. He intercepted passes at the most key times of the season (Colts Week 8, anyone?). He became one of Coach Ryans' chess pieces that he could deploy in a number of different ways from that nickel spot.
Then, on what seemed like a simple tackle out in space against the Titans in Week 12, Pitre landed awkwardly and was lost for the season. All of that disruption and fearlessness, just…gone. He was sorely missed. My heart sank when he walked behind me to the locker room.
But the Texans knew how much Pitre meant, and means, to this organization and rewarded him with a contract to stay here for the next three years. The Stafford, TX star may not need his Baylor "Jalen Rules" any longer but he's following his unique path within a defense that desires his unique skill set, fearless demeanor and PLENTY of edge…or SWARM, as it were.
Some players are just meant to be Texans and Jalen Pitre is one of those extraordinary few.
