00:00Here is D'Amico actually kind of singling out Jaden Higgins.
00:05Higgins has done an outstanding job.
00:08From day one, from him coming back,
00:10when I seen him for the first time coming back,
00:13it's like, well, you see a physical difference.
00:16You see a stronger, you see more chiseled out receiver.
00:21Then we step on the field, he's playing faster, he's playing stronger,
00:25he's making all of the tough catches.
00:27He's playing extremely fast.
00:30He's taking advantage of his offseason.
00:33He's really improved in a ton of areas.
00:35That was the first area for him is how can we play fast consistently,
00:38and he's doing that right now.
00:40He's going to have a great year.
00:43Can't wait to see it.
00:44All right, that was him really sounding really excited
00:48and impressed about the offseason
00:50and what this could mean for a player like Jaden Higgins.
00:53713-572-416, YouTube and Twitch, you can jump in on this as well.
00:58Guys that you think may take steps, guys that you may –
01:02and I think there are guys on either side of the ball.
01:04They still have young guys on that defensive side,
01:06and obviously they're going to need some of these guys on offense to take steps.
01:11Is Jaden Higgins one of the guys that you look at that potentially takes steps, Clint?
01:15Shoot, Jaden Higgins is the guy, and I was going to say on the offense,
01:18but he's the guy on this entire roster for me.
01:20Jaden Higgins is the wild card.
01:21If Jaden Higgins can take the kind of step and development and growth
01:27and maturity from year one to year two that D'Amico Ryan's just described
01:31when he first saw him this offseason, if that's real and that comes to fruition
01:35and actually you can see it in his play,
01:38then a lot of the Texans' problems are solved.
01:41Doesn't matter what Tankdale comes back like, really.
01:44Doesn't matter what Jalen Knoll can or can't do inside.
01:47Doesn't matter what Brevin Jordan is or isn't.
01:50It doesn't really matter whether Woody Marks and David Montgomery are used games.
01:57We keep hearing they're going to be used in the pass game.
01:59It really doesn't matter.
02:01If you've got Niko Collins on one side
02:03and then you've got Jaden Higgins on the other side at 6'4", 220,
02:06and he's able to play fast
02:08and not just be a complimentary receiver like he was last year,
02:10which I could see a lot of first-year player thinking about the play,
02:15thinking about the coverage, thinking about the pressure.
02:17Am I doing what I should be doing?
02:19There's an obvious step for him to take and play faster,
02:22just being able to read and recognize things
02:24and just being able to process the offense and what your assignment is.
02:27No doubt about it.
02:28But if he can couple that typical year one to year two growth
02:33with, well, all of a sudden he's a man amongst boys,
02:36all of a sudden he's bigger and stronger than he already was at 6'4", 215,
02:41and he's playing faster, that is a different animal.
02:45If you put just a competent run game on the field
02:49and you've got 6'4", on each side,
02:53one of them being a top five, top seven wide receiver in the league,
02:56and then another one of them being one of the quickest
02:59or the rising stars, if you will, in the league at 6'4", 215, 220 on the other,
03:04then I think a lot of the question marks about this offense
03:07really fall to the wayside.
03:10That is a hell of a one-two punch.
03:12It's a hell of a compliment to any kind of run game.
03:15You don't have to be great, any kind of run game.
03:17I think Jaden Higgins is the X factor on this team
03:20that could make all these conservative decisions
03:24and conservative moves that Nick Casario has made.
03:27Jaden Higgins is the one that can make them all right.
03:29Yeah, because you can't really count on Tank yet.
03:34You can't look at that at least to count on going –
03:38I mean, he's still not practicing yet.
03:41We'll see what happens with Jalen Noel.
03:43Maybe he is somebody I think maybe fits into that.
03:46But you just start looking at everybody else,
03:50and it comes to a point where it's like, hey,
03:52he is the guy that if he can take a step –
03:56and when I say a step, like I think a lot of people were talking about
03:58that Nico step that Nico took from like year two to year three.
04:03Like, no, that was an offense that was designed to go and make big plays,
04:07and he had 1,300 –
04:08I don't think he's going to go from 400 to 1,300 yards like Nico did.
04:13I don't think that is the case.
04:15But, Clint, if they roll in here and Higgins with a healthy Nico,
04:20that means Nico is playing, and Higgins is around 750 and 800 yards.
04:25Yeah.
04:25And is where I think his strength could be in the red zone,
04:29a big red zone threat.
04:31That is an appropriate step up from the 400, 500 yards he had last year.
04:36Yeah.
04:36Well, I mean, if he just becomes a shadow of what Nico is, right?
04:40I mean, just a guy that maybe he's that difficult to tackle after the catch,
04:44or maybe he is the guy that is more of the 50-50 ball getter,
04:48the guy that can accelerate beyond DBs and go get the ball
04:51and be more of the go-route runner,
04:53and Nico Collins can be a little bit more of the underneath guy,
04:57and you draw the attention, and we use Higgins over the top,
05:00which we did from time to time last year.
05:02But at the end of the day, if that guy can take his game to the –
05:07and I don't just mean natural,
05:09well, he understands the offense a little bit better so he can line up right.
05:13I'm talking about get out there and have a defense and, you know,
05:20have a certain – you know, if we've got this play called
05:23and you get anything other than man-to-man defense, we're going to Higgins.
05:27You know what I mean?
05:28Like there's – if he turns into that kind of player, forget about it.
05:32Oh, yeah.
05:33Forget about it.
05:33I mean, like straight up, the moves that we've called conservative,
05:39to put it nicely, my complaining about not making big moves
05:44and the lack of weapons, it all falls by the wayside if Jaden Higgins
05:49is what D'Amico Rhines, I think, expects him to be based on what we just heard.
05:54Anybody fit that on the other side of the ball?
05:56Anybody fit?
05:57Like, because I know you said Higgins is the X factor.
05:59Well, I got a couple.
06:00Look, I think Jalen Smith, that third corner is big.
06:06I think he's got a chance.
06:08I mean, we obviously know the likelihood of one of or both guys getting banged up
06:13throughout a 17-game, 18-week season.
06:16That third corner is going to be critical.
06:18But I think even bigger, D'Amico Rhines talks a lot about wrinkles
06:21and about, you know, being able to grow your defense.
06:25As I've said a million times, I think – I love Jalen Petrie.
06:29I really do.
06:30But there's something about, in critical moments, having the ability to shift gears,
06:37pull Jalen Petrie off the field, slide Kamari Lasseter into nickel,
06:40and bring Jalen Smith in at corner.
06:42And now you've got three true cover defenders that can cause some major problems
06:47in man-to-man scenarios with Kalen Bullock now roaming center field
06:51with that kind of sticky coverage underneath.
06:53That is an amazing card to me.
06:57I do think Jalen Smith being healthy and D'Amico Rhines talking about him
07:01and how he's coming along and maturing in this defense,
07:03I think that is – that's the defender that I think changes the game.
07:08There's also a rookie, Kalen McDonald.
07:11Look, I think if – I don't know.
07:12I've not seen him in person.
07:14I mean, I'd like to see, you know, what kind of body comp are we talking about?
07:18Are we talking about a kid that's going to physically be different year two
07:20versus year one?
07:21Are we talking about a guy that right now is physically a different animal?
07:23I was going to say, D-tackles, rookie D-tackles, it generally takes him a minute.
07:28Yeah, it generally takes him a minute.
07:29You're right.
07:30And, you know, he is a guy that, boy, if he can get ramped up
07:34and get rolling inside, golly, man.
07:39And he don't even have to be great.
07:40If he can just get in there and be a guy that's worthy of being a quote-unquote
07:44starter on this defense with this rotation, you got something, man.
07:48Yeah, they haven't had great, you know, up there.
07:51And they have been this defense.
07:53Well, if you really look at it, I mean, look, I know Tim Settle obviously is a big dude.
07:58I think if you look at Foley Fadakasi, I think was a big dude.
08:03But, you know, there's big dudes and then there's big dudes by NFL standards.
08:09And, again, I haven't been next to Kayla McDonald, but I would like to,
08:15when I do see him, if he's as big as I think he is,
08:19that guy would be a different animal inside if he could.
08:22Like Tony Gwynn.
08:23Tony Gwynn Jr., big as hell.
08:25Oh, yeah.
08:26Just big as hell.
08:29Yeah, no, it's – well, it's not just big, though, to go along with.
08:32He's big, but everybody talks about his strength.
08:35Yeah.
08:35Like that is – he just throws cats off of him.
08:40And that his – he's got, like, the weight room strength that plays on the field.
08:44You know, that he's –
08:45That's what I'm talking about.
08:46Boy, I can't wait to see that.
08:48If that is real and he's good enough right now immediately,
08:50or even by mid-year, to show that on the field in game minutes, wow, look out.
08:58He ought to be able to take Andrews and just bench press him.
09:01Ooh, don't do that.
09:02He ought to be able to take Andrews and just –
09:02He ought to be able to take Andrews and just –
09:02He ought to be able to take Andrews and just –
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