The Texans played to another packed house on the second day of training camp. Among the thousands of fans in attendance Saturday morning was 10-year-old Brant Walker, who came with his family from 600 miles away in Plainview, Texas.
Brant met his favorite player, Andre Johnson, at training camp last year and sent an e-mail to the Texans asking for dates and times of 2009 training camp practices. The Texans' front office not only invited Brant and his family to come but arranged for VIP treatment them - allowing the giddy family to watch practice from the sidelines and introducing them to team owner Bob McNair, vice chairman D. Cal McNair, president Jamey Rootes and, of course, Johnson - who gave Brant his red receiver gloves after practice.
UPDATE (3:04 p.m.): "I didn't know who Brant was until today and I'm glad that happened today," Johnson said after practice. "It definitely keeps me on my Ps and Qs. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some stuff and send it to Brant. I can appreciate him, following me and looking up to me as his role model."
UPDATE (8/2): Check out **this video clip on Texans TV** with interviews of Brant, his mother and Johnson, as well as footage of Johnson talking to Brant after practice.
As for football news, one of the interesting things from this morning's practice was seeing tight end James Casey line up at fullback. Starting fullback Vonta Leach is out this week because of a death in his family. Coach Gary Kubiak said after practice that Casey's versatility will be a big part of him possibly contributing to the team early.
We'll have more updates in a practice report later today.
