John Harris and Marc Vandermeer are live on 95.7 The Fan at 10am and 6pm every day during training camp. Listen and subscribe to Texans All-Access on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The start of training camp may have been last Wednesday, but the REAL training camp began on Monday. It was all about the pads at the Houston Methodist Training Center and now we can all say that training camp is truly here. The fans were on hand. The pads were popping. It was football the way that we all love, so let's dive into my Harris Hits from day five…or day one, now that real football has entered the chat.
The squad was inside for much of the start of practice as Marc and I finished radio. That was a good decision because Monday was HOT as all get out. After special teams finished its first period, it was time for seven-on-seven in the red zone.
QB C.J. Stroud threw a DART to WR Jared Wayne as the fourth-year QB found his guy in the end zone. Stroud took off on a scramble to his right when the clock in his head went off and zipped a fastball to Wayne for six points.
Then, Stroud threw to WR Nico Collins just across the goal line, which did create a bit of controversy as CB Kamari Lassiter thought he'd gotten the ball out of Nico's hands. I like the competition for sure. Then again, it's competitive any time 3, 12 and 24 go at one another.
I thought it was an excellent day for JAY ROCK - CB Jaylin Smith. During seven-on-seven, I had my eyes on his side of the field and I noticed that WR Josh Kelly left a bit early from the LOS on his route. He ran a quick slant, so it looked like he had a step on Smith initially. But, the second-year corner from USC got back in phase, dove in front and knocked the ball away at the goal line. GREAT play.
Smith, later in practice, was all over a receiver on the far end of the field for another pass breakup. As he trotted back over to the sideline, I could hear someone close to me "Man, Jay Rock is having a great day." Couldn't disagree. He's an important piece for this defense and he showed why with those two breakups.
A few plays after Stroud threw a laser to Jared Wayne for a TD, QB Davis Mills did the same on a similar play to Josh Kelly. Mills took off when his internal clock hit zeroes and, moving to his left, threw near the goal post to Kelly for a touchdown. That ball had some sauce on it, but it was accurately placed for Kelly across the back line of the end zone.
Then, QB Graham Mertz threw two balls on the run that stood out. On the first rep, Mertz scrambled to his left but no one could really shake free so Mertz took a flyer and RIPPED a fastball at rookie RB Noah Whittington on the sideline. When I saw the ball released, I thought to myself "No one is catching that ball." Then, Whittington reached out and SNATCHED that thing to his chest for a catch inside the two-yard line.
On the next play, Mertz again moved to left and then lofted one to WR DJ Turner in the back of the end zone. Tap…Tap. Turner reeled it in and then expertly tapped his feet in bounds for a touchdown. That was one heck of a catch for the receiver.
I saw RB David Montgomery at joint practice last year, so I know what he can do, but seeing it in person here? I'm all for it.
He's helping me create a new moniker for a runner like him. "Plus one" as in he's the type of running back that will always get one yard more than he should. He runs so damn hard that he's always falling forward, fighting through a tackle or just wiggling out of a tackle…or all three at once. He's so good at that. On the first run in team drills, he took an inside handoff and was contacted a yard or two into the run. Then, as defenders joined the fray, he kept driving for, wait for it, another yard or two. I thought to myself at that point, he's a "plus one". Whatever you think you're going to get, add a yard because Montgomery is picking up that extra.
One thing that really stood out to me today was the pass protection for the quarterbacks. Again, I'll reiterate, not 1000%, but it's light years ahead of where it's been in past years. The OL seems to be communicating well, getting the proper add-ons from TEs and RBs and it shows in the time in the pocket. There were a few sacks along the way, but it was more from a coverage standpoint, not blown protection.
That said, the run blocking was on point as well. During a team drill, RB Woody Marks BLEW through an open hole, and by "BLEW through", I mean, he didn't have a defensive soul near him as he sped through. Rookie C/G Keylan Rutledge had an excellent block on the down defender and that helped open things up for Marks.
And, the collisions created by the OL and DL? Wow. G Wyatt Teller and DE Danielle Hunter on a run play? I mean, that was heard over on the 610 South freeway. There were many like that.
I want to give rookie OL James Neal III some love today too. That dude LOVES the physical part of the game. As everyone has more than likely seen already, there was a little fracas that took place after a run by rookie Noah Whittington. The reason that run WENT was because Neal put his helmet nearly through the heart of the defender. I saw the defender's head snap back and Whittington turned the corner into a few more white shirts…then it got a little angsty and the fighting transpired. That said, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the rookie coming into training camp, but Neal caught my eye today with his physicality in the run game on Monday.
One of the prettiest pass plays of training camp took place a few plays after Montgomery's run. Davis Mills faked a handoff, took a play action drop and scanned for an open receiver. He saw WR Justin Watson crossing the formation well down the field with rookie S Kamari Ramsey in coverage. I thought for sure Ramsey was going to pick off the pass from Mills, but the ball kept fading away from Ramsey and into the belly of Watson as he slid into the catch near the sideline. That was a total DIME and a GREAT catch.
Two plays later, Mills drilled a deep comeback to Jared Wayne, but the story of the play was the OL protecting against the defense's pressure. The D changed the look for Mills, but the OL picked it up, Wayne won on his route and Mills had PLENTY of time to distribute the ball to his WR for a pretty looking completion.
I had a chance to interview rookie DT Kayden McDonald on Saturday and he was, as expected, a wonderful young man. I asked him if Texans fans hadn't seen him play at Ohio State, how would he describe himself and his play style? He said "stout." That was the one word he used…and then stopped as he figured that was enough. Well, there was no better example of that than what he did down in the low red zone during team drills. He went one-on-one against an interior OL that I missed the number, thankfully, and he TOSSED said 315+ lb. man to the side and wrapped up a RB for no gain. Just got hands on and LAUNCHED him. He wasn't lying when he said "stout", in fact, he might have undersold that a bit.
Hawk, aka S Calen Bullock, had one of the best plays of the day as he had an interception on a throw over the middle. He closes on the ball from his safety spot as explosively and quickly as any safety I've ever seen. That pick was the embodiment of that statement.
The catch of the day, though, will go to Nico Collins. As Stroud rolled to his right down in the red zone, he spied Collins on a crosser, coming from all the way from the other side of the field. Stroud, basically, threw the ball right down the hash marks on the sideline and Nico reached out his left hand. THWUMP! The ball just got sucked into Nico's left hand for the prettiest one-handed catch of the day.
On the very next play, rookie TE Marlin Klein had to block Danielle Hunter on a run his way and, look, this part wasn't pretty but I'm going somewhere with this. Yes, Danielle did what he does and Klein was frustrated at the end of the play. I made a mental note to see how Klein would respond. So, a few plays later, the Texans ran David Montgomery on an inside run and he darted down to the one-yard line. Yeah! Excellent nine-yard run. So, I looked up on the board to see how it happened. I saw Klein at right TE and he was responsible for DE Will Anderson Jr. That's the burden for these TEs and Klein being a rookie hasn't seen anything like these two. But, this time, Klein battled his guts out and eventually stayed on the block to open a sliver of space for Montgomery, who then darted through for a solid gain. Rookies are going to struggle, especially against those two, but to see Klein battle and improve from rep to rep is a great, GREAT sign.
Kamari Lassiter said his name. Many others have said his name too. Rookie CB Collin Wright (from Manvel HS) has gotten people's attention. He had a great PBU a few days ago on Klein on a deep seam route. Today, he had a clean PBU on a slant route, one of the toughest to make competitive against a WR. Wright is noticeable for sure; as such, his teammates have certainly noticed.
Rookie UDFA WR Daniel Sobkowicz made a wonderful play on a third down during team drills. He made an excellent finger tip catch for a first down during the second team period.
The Davis Mills touchdown throw to TE Foster Moreau out in the left flat was the embodiment of an offensive play well designed and executed even better. OC Nick Caley must have been jumping out of his shoes seeing his guys execute one of his play calls at that level. Moreau slipped off his block out in the flat, so wide open that he could basically walk into the end zone after making the easy catch.
That happened again on the last offensive play of the day. Graham Mertz faked a handoff, then booted out to his right. Josh Kelly was wide open at the back of the end zone. Noah Whittington was even more wide open. So, Mertz threw to Whittington for the short, easy score. That was great offensive execution, again.
Okay, that's a great spot to finish and start preparing for another practice at the Houston Methodist Training Center tomorrow. Can't wait! See you then, everyone!
Catch John Harris and Marc Vandermeer live daily during training camp at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and subscribe to Texans All-Access on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
