I was talking the other day; the first time I’d seen Mark (Ingram) was in elementary school. It’s crazy because I used to watch him and watch his highlights and now I get to pick his brain. Running back Phillip Lindsay
The Houston Texans were back on the practice fields at the Houston Methodist Training Center for Day 2 of camp on Thursday.
"Not as bad as yesterday, feels a lot better," linebacker Jordan Jenkins said in all seriousness.
Houston heat and humidity was unchanged, but the jersey numbers continued to do just the opposite. Just as everyone was starting to learn the roster, more number changes occurred overnight for the wide receiver group.
Rookie wide receiver Nico Collins is now wearing No. 12. Anthony Miller switched to No. 18 but then swapped numbers again with Chris Conley, so now Miller is No. 17 and Conley is No. 18. The good news is that now the Texans have wide receivers wearing consecutive numbers from 12 through 19 for anyone who hates missing numbers on the roster (ahem, myself and John Harris).
Head coach David Culley also still has to refer to his roster sheet from time to time since there are no names on camp jerseys. However, Culley is getting to know players based on their performance early in camp.
"I'm starting to now get a really good feel for who is what because certain guys show up, and when they show up and they show up over and over again, you kind of get their names."
Practice kicked off with all offensive players (minus the offensive linemen) and coaches warming up by running over the bags.
Running backs have been fun to watch, even in their warmup drills. Phillip Lindsay has impressive speed and change of direction. Hair watch: Lindsay appears to be growing back his iconic 'fro.
Lindsay spoke to media after practice and described the running back room as "versatile." He loves the experience and skillset of the position group led by Danny Barrett, now in his fourth season as the Texans running backs coach.
"We have a good time in that running back room," Lindsay said. "It's probably one of the best running back rooms I got to be around."
Offensive lineman Justin Britt is back on the field this camp and says he feels the best he's felt in years. He has not played since October 2019 and spent 2020 rehabbing as a free agent. When it comes to the playbook, the former six-year starter for the Seattle Seahawks said he feels "light years ahead" of where he was in the spring during OTAs and is excited about the Texans run game.
"You control the game by running the ball," Britt said. "You control the clock, set the tone. We want to run the ball. We have the group to do it. That's my mindset that I'm going to bring."
In team drills late in practice, six-year veteran wide receiver Alex Erickson made some nice catches down the field from quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Keion Crossen had an impressive pass breakup early in practice and followed it up with a shoulder shrug celebration.
During offensive linemen and defensive linemen 1-on-1s, Laremy Tunsil and Whitney Mercilus were seen chatting in between reps.
Zach Cunningham and Phillip Lindsay battled during the linebacker-running back 1-on-1s.
Consistency seemed to be the buzz word of the day. Coach Culley said that's the one thing he's looking for during the long days of camp.
Consistency is also what the players like about Culley. Linebacker Jordan Jenkins says he has a lot of respect for the new head coach.
"Coach Culley has been the same guy from the front to now," Jenkins said. "He's all about character, all about having the right attitude and making sure guys stay the same and keep working. He's holding everybody accountable."
Tight end Jordan Akins made a great diving catch late in practice. When asked if he considered switching numbers this offseason, Akins said no. He wore No. 5 in high school as a quarterback, wide receiver, punt and kick returner, but plans to stick with No. 88.
"All the greats wore 88," Akins said. "I switched to 88 in college and I've been a tight end and a lot of like greats like Tony Gonzalez, Cris Carter. A lot of people back in the day wore 88."
The Texans will be back for Day 3 of training camp practice on Friday at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
