The offseason was long for Duke Ejiofor.
The Texans rookie outside linebacker missed most of it recovering from a torn labrum suffered during his 2017 season at Wake Forest. Cleared for football in July, Ejiofor returned to the football field in time for training camp.
But his real entrance was during the preseason, almost as if Ejiofor had something to prove.
"It was all about me going out there and show what I've been working on, throughout the whole offseason and training camp," Ejiofor said.
In Week 1 at Kansas City, Ejiofor debuted with three quarterback hits. He followed it up the next week against the 49ers with a tackle on the opening kickoff and then a tackle for loss for the Texans defense.
The Texans sixth-round draft pick surprised many with his early playmaking, but not teammate Whitney Mercilus.
"No we all saw it," Mercilus said. "Especially the way that he practiced. Just the way he carried himself and even though he was a rookie, he was much more ahead of the curve than a lot of us were when we were a rookie. Very surprising to see that and he did a great job. He has great fluid body motion and that's something that you don't typically see in guys."
Ejiofor, the son of Nigerian immigrant parents and a 2013 graduate of Alief Taylor High School, prides himself on his pass-rushing skills. He has leaned on teammates like Mercilus and Brennan Scarlett for mentoring and studying the playbook. He has taken the coaching in a short period of time and continues to work on his technique, both adding variety to his pass-rush moves and setting an edge in the run.
On Sunday, Ejiofor will face a five-time Super Bowl champion quarterback in Tom Brady. Though he grew up watching Brady, Ejiofor won't let the moment be too big for his NFL debut.
"I think just taking it a play at a time, just knowing that everything is not going to be perfect," Ejiofor said. "Just focusing on your assignments and alignments and just taking it a play at a time."
The Texans will open their 2018 regular season against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 12 noon CT on CBS and SportsRadio 610.
The Houston Texans roster in photos.
DL Mario Addison, #56 (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
QB, Kyle Allen, #3
RB, Darius Anderson, #30
DB, Grayland Arnold, #35
TE, Antony Auclair, #83
DL, Ross Blacklock, #90
DL, Thomas Booker, #96
OL, Justin Britt, #68
DB, Terrence Brooks, #8
TE, Pharaoh Brown, #85
RB, Rex Burkhead, #28
WR, Jalen Camp, #17
OL, A.J. Cann, #60
LB, Blake Cashman, #53
DL, Maliek Collins, #97
WR, Nico Collins, #12
WR, Chris Conley, #18
WR, Brandin Cooks, #13
TE, Darrell Daniels, #47 (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
WR, Davion Davis, #14
LB, Tae Davis, #19
OL, Austin Deculus, #76
WR, Phillip Dorsett, #4
QB, Jeff Driskel, #6
DL, Michael Dwumfour, #98
WR, Drew Estrada, #81
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, #7
DB, Jacobi Francis, #38
RB, Royce Freeman, #26
OL, Carson Green, #62
DL, Jonathan Greenard, #52
WR, DaeSean Hamilton, #5
OL, Kenyon Green, #59
DL, Rasheem Green (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
LB, Kamu Grugier-Hill, #51
LB, Christian Harris, #48
DL, Demone Harris, #94
WR, Damon Hazelton, #86
OL, Charlie Heck, #67
LB, Neville Hewitt, #43
QB, Kevin Hogan, #16 (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
OL, Tytus Howard, #71
DL, Jerry Hughes, #55 (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
FB, Andy Janovich, #41
An image from the Aug. 21, 2021 Houston Texans preseason game 2 against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Texans won 20-14.
WR, Johnny Johnson III, #89
P, Cameron Johnston, #11
TE, Brevin Jordan, #9
DB, Desmond King II, #25
LB, Christian Kirksey, #58
DL, Roy Lopez, #91
RB, Marlon Mack, #2
DB, Tristin McCollum, #39
OL, Justin McCray, #64
WR, John Metchie III, #88
QB, Davis Mills, #10
WR, Chris Moore, #15
OL, Jimmy Morrissey, #79
DB, Eric Murray, #23
DB, Steven Nelson (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
DB, Steven Nelson, #21
DL, Adedayo Odeleye, #75
OL, Cedric Ogbuehi, #77
RB, Dare Ogunbowale, #33
DL, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, #45
DB, Jonathan Owens, #36
RB, Dameon Pierce, #31
LB, Kevin Pierre-Louis, #57
DB, Jalen Pitre, #42
FB, Paul Quessenberry, #45
OL, Scott Quessenberry, #54
TE, Teagan Quitoriano, #84
LB, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, #34 (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
DL, Derek Rivers, #95
OL, Max Scharping, #74
DB, Kendall Sheffield (AP Photo/Kevin Sabitus)
DB, Tremon Smith, #24
OL, Jordan Steckler, #70
DB, M.J. Stewart, #29
DB, Derek Stingley Jr., #24
DB, Tavierre Thomas, #37
OL, Laremy Tunsil, #78
LB, Garret Wallow, #32
WR, Connor Wedington (AP)
LS, Jon Weeks #46
DB, Isaac Yiadom, #20
