The day began about as well as you could have wanted, with some great news - maintaining the momentum of glowing vibes of the 2023 offseason into the first day of 'Camp Ryans.'
Tytus Howard got a contract extension, which was an excellent development as he heads into his 5th year. Howard has been here longer than any other draft choice and is the longest tenured player not named Jon Weeks.
The news that John Metchie III got a clean bill of health and could practice swept over the Houston Methodist Training Center like a cool Canadian breeze. Not only is he a promising prospect but he's VanderKid's favorite player. VanderKid has owned several Texans jersey but when Metchie was drafted he quickly obtained (i.e. had me buy) a jersey of the newest Texans pass catcher.
Speaking of cool breezes – John Harris and I are broadcasting from under the stands, right at the 50-yard line! It's shady and the view is spectacular. We'll keep sharing all we see weekday mornings on Sports Radio 610 from 8-10am.
When I got back into the building after practice, everyone from the business office was asking me "How'd we look?"
It's day one, so the offense is not exactly going to be the finished product. But let's just say there were some nice moments. This is my annual reminder that Andre Ware likes to point out -defense comes together faster because you're destroying something instead of constructing it.
Whatever the case, it's clear that the talent level has ratcheted up several notches on both sides of the ball. The draft choices and free agent signings are like a B-12 shot to this organization.
I stayed away from another cool breeze reference right there but I was tempted! It's already surface-of-the-sun conditions at NRG Park.
After practice I asked Austin Deculus about beating the heat. He played high school ball at Cy Fair and college football at LSU, two places not to be confused with Anchorage.
"Hydrate and cold towels," he said. "Those two things. And at the end of the day you have to mentally know that you signed up for it."
Deculus went to the same high school as Chairman and CEO Cal McNair who said on our show "It's very exciting. Every day, we're trying to get better, getting ready for our first game."
It's a busy time. In two weeks, the Texans will be at New England to start the preseason. And it'll fly by from there. In the meantime, the grind is underway and we'll be here to cover all of it.
