00:00All right, Clint, you were in the building out at NRG
00:04as day one of mandatory minicamp,
00:06and it looks like most everyone was there.
00:09Daniil Hunter and Sheldon Rankins were two guys that weren't at OTAs.
00:14They were definitely in attendance.
00:16Trent Brown was on the field in attendance.
00:19There were guys that had some injuries, but even they were there.
00:21Tank Dale was there working out on another field.
00:24Nico Collins reportedly working out on another field.
00:27Braden Smith there.
00:29What did you see?
00:30You were there in the building.
00:31What jumped out to you today, day one of mandatory minicamp?
00:35Yeah, I think to start with, before practice ever got started,
00:39I think just laying my eyes on a few guys is, I think, you know,
00:46puts things in perspective.
00:48Braden Smith didn't practice, but I did see him walking over to practice,
00:52and, again, that's one of them dudes that's just built a little different.
00:56So, you know, all the reports out there of this offensive line just looking the part,
01:00looking totally different.
01:02I'll be honest, in the past, I've looked at Texans' offensive line for a long time,
01:07even with Laramie Tunstall on there, and you wonder, man, where's the size?
01:12Where's the build?
01:15Where's the, you know, a lot of these guys, you know, look soft,
01:19or a lot of these guys aren't quite as big as you would expect.
01:23Well, that is no longer in Houston.
01:25I mean, Braden Smith is a grown-ass man.
01:28You look at Keelan Rutledge walking across the field, you know,
01:32to hear all the talk about how nasty he is and how he had to earn every rep he got,
01:37and he's still got some developing to do and this and that,
01:40and you talk so much about his mentality and his approach,
01:42it leads you to believe that maybe this dude ain't got the lead in his ass
01:48to necessarily carry it that way, so he's making up for it.
01:52Now, he's built better than you think as well.
01:54He's physically ready to play as well.
01:57Trent Brown was out there today.
01:59Trent was just an absolute monster.
02:01Gets you every time you see him.
02:02Yeah, it's just, I mean, he's standing in a huddle next to dudes that you know
02:05are good-sized dudes.
02:06It's wild.
02:07But, yeah, I think this offensive line, you know, to the eye,
02:12when they get off the bus, there's definitely a major difference.
02:15Now, we'll see what that means on the field,
02:17but there is definitely a major difference.
02:18Another guy that stood out that I think was probably off the radar to start,
02:24but with the EJ Speed injury, I think there's a chance that he could end up
02:28getting some run, and that's Wade Wood as your guy.
02:30Yeah, W.A.
02:31That is a, you know, 6'3", 240, and it's a long 240.
02:36It's an EJ Speed-looking player.
02:39Assuming he can mentally pick this thing up,
02:42I would bet that he's the guy that you see getting some run at that EJ Speed position.
02:48Maybe not right away because there's some guys that have been in the system,
02:51but I would imagine that just looking at him build-wise, wingspan,
02:55and looking at the way the guy plays,
02:59D'Amico wants to get him on the field quick.
03:01He's not one of them linebackers, Ron, that you look at and you go,
03:05yeah, that's a good special teams player that just happens to play linebacker.
03:07Got an LB by his name on the roster.
03:10No, this is a dude that's got a little something to him.
03:12There's some length there that I think is going to be fun for D'Amico to kind of develop it.
03:18I think by mid-year, I bet he's getting some pretty serious run on the defense.
03:25When we get to the different positions, Ron, I think the tight end group,
03:29we've heard a lot about the tight end group, and in today's game in the NFL,
03:32we do see teams, a lot of 12 personnel, a lot of 13 personnel,
03:36and I'm not talking about goal line packages.
03:37I'm talking about even with the Marlon Klein kid with the hamstring injury,
03:46you take him out of the mix.
03:47If they can keep their top guys healthy, they're going to be scary in those personnels.
03:53I mean, you've got, I'm going to tell you, Cade Stover looks really good.
03:56I don't know if it's the white shoes and the single-digit number.
03:58He's wearing number eight.
03:59He looks like he's moving better.
04:01It looks like that might be, when you talk about players,
04:05like one of the most competitive groups that they have.
04:09Because I don't think all five that comes to mind are going to be there.
04:14But you could look at them and you could say, yeah,
04:18I can see all of them making this team.
04:21Well, they're going to have some decisions to make if everybody's healthy.
04:24I mean, you can't do anything with your second-round draft pick.
04:26He's got to be on the roster, or injured reserve, obviously,
04:29but he's got to be on the roster.
04:30So he's going to eat up a spot.
04:32Dalton Schultz is going to eat up a spot.
04:33I don't know that you can have three other guys active,
04:36five tight ends active or on the roster every week.
04:39So I don't see how you do that.
04:40But I'm telling you, Cade Stover looks completely –
04:43you remember last year when you and I, when we first saw Cade Stover,
04:45I really – I thought it was the ones, the Jordan,
04:49the championship Jordan ones, the red, black, and whites.
04:51But, you know, he was wearing high-top shoes,
04:53looked to be a little bit heavier, bigger.
04:56We were at a distance today, but he just looks lighter, looks leaner,
05:00looks like he's moving – I had to look him up.
05:02I didn't realize it was him.
05:03It was that different.
05:05Looks smaller, and seems to be moving better.
05:08And then Brevin Jordan is Brevin Jordan.
05:09He's a guy that, you know, in sweats –
05:12He's going to look great in that.
05:13In sweats, boy, oh, he looks good.
05:14And so the tight end groups, they really stand out.
05:19They practice just overall, just the way they're moving,
05:21the way they catch it, the possibilities there with the different personnels.
05:25And then last but not least for me, from a personnel standpoint,
05:28I think Jalen Knoll is going to be a problem.
05:31If he's allowed to.
05:32Jalen Knoll is – I don't like – I don't like what Nick Casario
05:39and how confident Nick Casario and D'Amico Ryans are
05:42with this particular group of skilled guys,
05:46whether it be because of injury or just because of lack of weapons,
05:49lack of experience.
05:51I'm going to tell you, man, Jalen Knoll is – he jumps off the field.
05:58So, I mean, jumps off the field.
06:01And he did – I mean, he did a lot last year.
06:04He's another one in shorts and jerseys without pads
06:09that's going to be hard to get away from people.
06:12But the other part of that is he was that way when he got opportunities
06:17on the field in pads in games.
06:20Seattle and the Niner game come to mind.
06:23The first time we saw him in OTAs, he just jumps all the time.
06:26It was one of the more shocking things that he didn't get more run.
06:31Yeah.
06:32Yeah.
06:33When you talk – the things that I've talked about with this offense
06:36over the years that are just, in my opinion, unacceptable.
06:40The motions and the jogging to motions and the jogging to –
06:45like he is – when it comes to route running
06:47and it comes to going in motion and shifting,
06:49he moves with a – he naturally moves with a sense of urgency
06:53that I just don't think you can teach people.
06:56And his motions are – when he's moving, he is rolling.
07:02When he snaps the ball and he out-leverages a force player
07:05or a cover player, cover defender in the flats,
07:08I mean, he is creating separation.
07:10And there's no doubt, quarterback, you better get the ball out of your hands
07:12because he is rolling.
07:13There's just – he's just different.
07:15You remember when we were talking about it yesterday with Tankdale
07:17when you went and watched him and you watch him in routes
07:19and you can see different – like when I watch the offense execute,
07:22seven on seven or team, when he's in the game,
07:25he's different than everybody else.
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