The Texans drafted three players on the second day of the 2013 NFL Draft on Friday: South Carolina safety D.J. Swearinger in the second round (57th overall) and North Carolina tackle Brennan Williams (89th overall) and LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery (95th overall) in the third round.
Quick notes on the newest Texans:
- Swearinger likes to hit. A lot. Check out these highlights. And these.
- Swearinger is the highest-drafted safety in Texans history. The highest before him had been Glenn Earl, a fourth-round pick at No. 122 overall in 2004.
- Williams' father, Brent, played in the NFL for 11 years. Williams said it was "extremely important" to follow in his footsteps. "It was an expectation that we always had to make it to this level," he said. "I'm truly blessed to be where I am today, but now it's time for me to carve out my own footsteps."
- Montgomery goes by the nickname "Sonic Sam," a nod to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" video game on Sega Genesis. He used to play it as a kid with his older brother, John Darrel Adams, who was murdered in 2007. Check out this story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune and this one from LSU for more info.
- Montgomery knows all about Texans defensive end Antonio Smith, a.k.a. the "Ninja Assassin." "Definitely, I'm a fan of the Ninja," he said. "I plan to take his teachings and make Ninja Sonic out of it."
- Some teams reportedly took Montgomery off their draft boards because of comments he made in interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine about taking plays off. The Texans obviously didn't. "Actually, he plays fast and he's physical," linebackers coach Reggie Herring said. "I think if anything, the young man is guilty of being a little naive, and therefore the fact that he's really an honest guy and tells you like it is and probably would tell you a lot more than he needs to tell you or open up and take all day talking to you. He's a guy with a big personality, and at the end of the day, there's not many players that would tell you something negative about themselves and not even know they're doing it."
- Three of the Texans' four draft picks through the first three rounds are from South Carolina. Swearinger and Montgomery were teammates at Greenwood High School and graduated together in 2009. "I'm ready to go there with my teammate D.J.," Montgomery said. "We're fixing to have fun on the field."
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