- 2 days ago
Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair joins the show immediately following practice to discuss Day 1 of training camp, the defense, and expectations for the season.
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00:00Right now, live from the Houston Methodist Training Center here on Sports Radio 610,
00:05we're sitting down with the middle linebacker for the Houston Texans for the foreseeable future,
00:10Aziz Alshair. Aziz, what's happening, man?
00:12What's up, brother? How you doing?
00:13Man, I'm doing well, but not as good as you, brother.
00:15You've had quite the summer, obviously.
00:17Not trying to pocket watch, but you got a little bit of money in your pocket.
00:21But to that end, actually, I always, and we were talking about this off air before we came back,
00:24I'm always so appreciative of the fact that that money, it only serves to further boost who you are
00:31because you spent this summer, obviously, I'm sure you had some good times,
00:34but you spent this summer continuing to be of service to your community, whether here or abroad.
00:37Yes, sir. Just doing a lot of work.
00:40I think it's just been something that's been instilled in me really from an early, early age with my mother,
00:46with my faith, being Muslim, you understand that to give is better than to receive.
00:51And then on top of that, just the blessings.
00:52When you give to someone, you know, it's like planting a seed.
00:56You know, if I plant this seed, you know, it might not do anything for me in this moment,
01:00but you just never know.
01:01If there's something that I did for someone, whether it's a kind word or helping somebody with their groceries,
01:07whatever the case may be, however small or big, you know,
01:10you never know what that can impact and do for them in their life.
01:12You know, some people that are literally on their last leg might have their last worst moment of their life,
01:18and you just give them that one lifeline that just changes everything.
01:20And for me, I just think that's special because I think about my life as a kid.
01:24And there was so many people who were that for me that, you know, you never forget to be where
01:28I'm at
01:28with enough people willing to pour into me, whether it was a kind word,
01:32whether it was a lunch lady when I was in high school giving me the extra chocolate milks after we
01:37got out of lunch.
01:38Like, those things, they matter.
01:40So I never try to take them for granted.
01:42I always try to pay it forward now, especially with the immense amount of blessings that I have.
01:46So while you were, you know, going around the globe, helping people, I imagine having a little fun,
01:50did you save a little time to get better at football?
01:52Yeah, it was the coolest thing in the world, going to Jordan.
01:56You know, I went with an organization I work with, HDF, it's called Human Development Fund.
02:00But I do a lot of work with them.
02:02And we did work in Jamaica.
02:05We did work in Jordan overseas.
02:08And when I went out there, man, going to these camps that were in the middle of the desert,
02:13and literally, like, these families had nothing.
02:15They were living in tents.
02:16We were able to provide, like, housing for them.
02:18Some of them didn't even have bathrooms.
02:20You know, it was an orphan family, seven kids, five girls, two little boys, and a mother.
02:24She's taking care of her kids.
02:25The women don't have a bathroom to use.
02:27You know, I couldn't even imagine, you know, me growing up homeless,
02:29the things that I endured and experienced.
02:31I would go through a thousand times over before the stuff that they went through.
02:35But even while I was out there, you know, it was crazy.
02:37You know, the royal family of Jordan reached out to me and ended up meeting with them
02:43and having lunch with them, specifically the princess Zayn and her daughter, Jemanna,
02:48who's, like, a huge fan of mine since, like, 2023.
02:51So she showed me, like, off her Instagram burner account, like, messaging me, like,
02:57every week about how great I'm doing in the community.
03:00And she loves the player that I am, all this crazy stuff.
03:03And I've just, you know, been a fan of mine since then.
03:06So they actually hooked me up.
03:07They got me in the, like, official Jordanian soccer stadium.
03:10So I'm practicing in their stadium every day.
03:12Mind you, they had a game the next day.
03:13So the grounds crew is literally looking at me pissed off.
03:17I'm just tearing up the grass.
03:19And they're talking, and they're like, you know, we really don't want them out here,
03:22but it came from the royal family, so we have no choice.
03:25And it was, you know, just amazing because it just showed me you never know who's watching you
03:29and the impact that you make.
03:30Like, yes, her first game was watching me when I was in Tennessee playing in a game.
03:34And she said she looked me up, and then she saw the work that I did,
03:37and that's what made her a real fan of mine.
03:39She's tracked me ever since.
03:41And just to think that, you know, the royal family of Jordan, what the hell?
03:45Like, it's all over the other side of the world.
03:46It's a 16-hour plane ride.
03:48It was watching me from the work that I'm doing in the United States, abroad.
03:52It was special.
03:53So I definitely made time for football, and they definitely helped me with that,
03:56with the facilities and stuff that they gave me access to.
03:59That is incredible.
04:00I have football questions, but I can't leave this.
04:02This is Jordan.
04:04This is the king, you said?
04:07The royal family.
04:08The royal family.
04:08They're Texans fans, clearly.
04:10Yeah.
04:10Well, now they are.
04:11Right.
04:12Well, now they are.
04:13I mean, that has to be not just humbling,
04:14but almost sort of lifts you up more into the role you already have, you know,
04:19as a leader, as someone who knows the importance of what you do in the community.
04:23Yes, sir.
04:24I think it just shows me that, you know, I'm doing the right stuff and just staying on track.
04:29You know, I think the whole process of it is, yes, is that an inconvenience, you know,
04:33two weeks out from training camp, you know, one of the biggest camps of my life,
04:38you know, the biggest moments of my current, you know, life and my stage where I'm at.
04:42Yeah.
04:43But to still make the time to go out there, take that 16-hour flight,
04:47of course, it's a little bit inconveniencing.
04:49But, you know, when you're doing something for the sake of God, you know,
04:52you're sacrificing in that way, he'll replace it with something better.
04:54And what I was able to experience, you know, with dealing with the families and the kids that I,
04:59the perspective I have is so different.
05:01Right.
05:01And, you know, I've already experienced all these things, you know, being homeless and all this stuff,
05:04and I've helped people everywhere.
05:05But just when you're in it and you're experiencing it with the people, you know,
05:09just knowing their stories and everything they went through,
05:11it just gives you a different sense of humility and a different drive.
05:15You know, you know that people in the middle of the desert are motivated by African-American,
05:20you know, kid from Tampa, Florida, you know, who grew up homeless,
05:24and that they inspired all the way across the world because of what I do and who I am.
05:28Every time I step on this grass, it's an obligation, not to just myself,
05:31but everybody that is looking up to me.
05:33And so it's definitely just motivating.
05:35You got to go back.
05:36A hundred percent.
05:37Every year.
05:37You got to go back.
05:39You got to do some sort of celebration or something, some sort of salute.
05:42I still keep in contact with those kids and with the families and just constantly still helping them.
05:47So it's not something that is like a one-off at all.
05:50You know, even the organization that I work with, you know,
05:52they already have things in place and programs in place.
05:54And for me, it's just turning a ripple into a wave.
05:58You know, so I'm just helping supporting them.
06:00And a lot of it has been just, you know, sending the money and things like that.
06:03But this was an opportunity where I actually got to go out there and actually do the work myself.
06:07You know, I've talked to these families, but never actually got to be there and experience it.
06:11So experiencing it for myself and seeing how they were living just gives me a different sense of gratitude.
06:16You talk about the heat.
06:17They're in the middle of the desert.
06:18AC is one thing.
06:19They don't got no fans.
06:20Talk about perspective.
06:20You know what I'm saying?
06:21They don't have no fans.
06:21They don't have a bathroom.
06:23So every day I'm out here, I'm working.
06:24I was working out there in the middle of the desert.
06:26So I'm not tripping about the sun or the heat.
06:28It's hot as heck.
06:29But, man, I'm grateful that I get these nice little Gatorades.
06:32You got a little fan working.
06:34You know what I'm saying?
06:34I'm going to be good.
06:35We got the little icebox.
06:36So, you know, I'm blessed, man.
06:38I'm grateful.
06:39I'm grateful to be in the position I'm in and do the stuff that I do.
06:42It's KLT-AM, KLT-FM, HD2 Houston, and Odyssey Sports Station.
06:46Sports Radio 610, we're talking to Aziz Alshaya here.
06:49You mentioned, right, turning a ripple into a wave.
06:52How do you turn a wave into a tsunami?
06:53Because you had your best season of your career, I think, last year.
06:58I mean, you're out here covering, looking like you're in Tampa 2, pulling down interceptions.
07:02Like, how do you build upon that?
07:03What are you looking to improve on when you're seeming like, at least to me,
07:07it feels like you're reaching a peak to some degree.
07:09Yeah, it's crazy because there's a book that has been on my shelf at my home in Florida.
07:13And I wish I could remember who gave me this book because I can't remember because I hadn't read it.
07:17I read a lot of books, and it was one of the books that's probably been there for a couple
07:20years.
07:20And it's the book, I think, Jim Collins, Good to Great.
07:25I'm reading it right now.
07:27And for me, I just feel like I'm in a space where, you know, you always see really good players.
07:31You know, there's good players in the league.
07:33There's good companies all over the world.
07:35There's good people.
07:36But how do you take that transition from good to great?
07:38And I feel like it's just the consistency of doing the right stuff, of the great things, of the good
07:42things that you're doing.
07:43And you're stacking those things and trying to push the limits.
07:46Because a lot of people, you get comfortable, you get complacent with, you know what, I did a good job.
07:50If I just do exactly what I did last year, that'd be good, right?
07:53But, no, there's so many things that you can keep climbing.
07:56And I think the humility of life is that something that you do for a whole year that got you
08:01this result,
08:02the following year you could do the exact same thing, and it could not even be good enough to get
08:06the bare minimum.
08:07Right.
08:07You know, you just never know what it requires.
08:08So, you have to push yourself to heights that you've never experienced, to new, uncomfortable positions that you've never experienced.
08:16So, for me, that's what I'm just trying to do.
08:18Yeah.
08:19What are those heights?
08:20I mean, I'm not talking about goals.
08:22I mean, everybody talks about that.
08:23But when you look at this team and you're looking around, you know what it was.
08:26You just said it.
08:26Good.
08:27You want to get to another level.
08:28You know, in your mind's eye, what are you seeing with this defense in terms of big picture, first day,
08:34hopefully playing into January, February?
08:37You know, what are those heights in your mind's eye that you see with this team, specifically the defense?
08:41I think specifically when you talk about the defense, it's just stacking the clean plays.
08:45You know, you stack these things up, you know, even breaking it down today,
08:49that was the message I kept telling the guys and the day before the linebacker group.
08:53It's like, man, you can't look at the top of the mountain.
08:55I remember trying to figure out the schedule for the training camp, and I'm looking at it,
09:00and honestly, when I'm seeing, like, the practices and I'm saying, man, we only got this many days until a
09:04game.
09:04Like, it's so short.
09:05And I started to feel myself get overwhelmed a little bit.
09:08And then I'm like, I had to stop myself.
09:09I'm like, man, like, remember, I can't look that far ahead.
09:13There's no guarantee I even make it to my birthday.
09:15Birthday's August 4th.
09:16Let's talk about July 29th.
09:17And now it's 30.
09:18You said August 4th, right?
09:20Let's write that down.
09:20So I slow it down to say, okay, I can't look at any other day.
09:24What's the schedule for today?
09:26Okay, what's the next thing we got on the schedule?
09:27Let me focus there.
09:28Because that's how you get better is by being in the moment.
09:31If you try to look ahead, you're going to skip steps along the way.
09:34But just look right where you're at and just focus on that.
09:37And then once that's over, go to the next thing.
09:39So how much does that impact you when you see your messaging?
09:43And you are revered by this team and the management and coaches and everything else.
09:48Dalton Schultz walked by and called you the mayor.
09:50You know, Will Anderson walked by and he said, hey, he replaced me.
09:53You know, like you are revered by the best of the best on this team.
09:57Where do you get the satisfaction?
09:58Forget about play.
09:59Like your message, you just said, when you hear it back, you know what I'm saying?
10:03Like what makes you satisfied in terms of being a leader and that message resonating?
10:09You know, going to, you know, Ms. Janice McNair's funeral, God rest her soul.
10:16And there was one of the pastors he was talking.
10:18You know, it was a beautiful service.
10:19Obviously, you know, I've only got to know her for a couple of years.
10:23And the things that resonated for me, the one thing that I heard, everybody talked about who went up there
10:29and spoke.
10:30Whether it was Cal, Andre, or this pastor, specifically this pastor talking.
10:33He was talking about the little pieces of heaven that she brought down to earth.
10:37And the last thing that he talked about that just, you know, sits with me heavy is her being attentive.
10:42Her presence with everybody that she interacted with.
10:44She made me feel special.
10:45And I've only known her for a couple of years.
10:47And, you know, obviously the stroke and everything that she had.
10:49But, like, I caught her on the back end.
10:51So I can only imagine, you know, the compound interest of who she's been for all those years prior.
10:56You know, so just to me, I think of that legacy.
10:58So I think of, man, like, when you die, what are people going to say about you?
11:01It's great when you're in their face.
11:02You know, a lot of people are going to say good things about you.
11:04But, like, she's no longer here.
11:05And to hear the things that people that were closest to her spoke about her, that's, in my mind, it's
11:09in the back of my head since that day.
11:11Like, man, how can I leave that impact on the field, off the field, everything that I'm doing to make
11:16sure that, you know, one day I am going to pass away just like everybody else.
11:19Yeah.
11:19And so who's going to be there at my field?
11:21Who's going to make time for me at my day where I'm being rested?
11:24Who's going to say, man, I got this thing going on?
11:26Yeah.
11:26But that's Aziz, man.
11:27Aziz meant so much to me.
11:28I got to go and pay my respects.
11:31So, for me, that's kind of just my mentality since that day is just like, man, how can I make
11:36sure I'm doing everything I can on the field, off the field, to match what God gave me and to
11:41leave that impact and that legacy for all the people that I got to be around.
11:45Now, Aziz, I know it's not going to make you complacent.
11:48It feels like you're doing a pretty damn good job at that right now.
11:51You're like an incredible leader from what we can tell.
11:54But this team is full of dudes that want to become leaders and are becoming leaders.
11:57And, hell, you had in a Reed Blankenship, who is a green dot type of guy.
12:01What does it do for you as kind of the central leader, the hub of this all, to see so
12:06many leaders up and playing with a guy maybe like Reed who also can do some of the things that
12:10you also feeling we bring to the defense?
12:12I think, you know, even going back to that book that I'm reading, Good to Great, one of the things
12:16I talked about is when you have the discipline and the leadership, you have a community, a disciplined culture where
12:24all the guys, you know, I'm literally reading the book.
12:26And I'm like, damn, did Nick and D'Amico just, they must have took this and just copy-paste, copy
12:31-paste.
12:31Because I swear, I'm only in the first chapter.
12:33I just finished the first chapter yesterday.
12:35And I'm like, bro, this is literally like I'm reading a Houston Texan, you know, manual of how to build
12:40a team.
12:41I swear.
12:42So I'm sitting there thinking like, man, I got to send this book to D'Amico.
12:45He had to have read this book.
12:46But, like, just the way that, you know, him and Nick have put together the pieces, offense, defense, special teams,
12:51coaching staff, like the right people.
12:54When you have the right people, you know, it's like it's seamless.
12:56Like you know what you have to do.
12:58So we talk about trying to be a leader.
13:00Everybody is a leader in their own right.
13:02And I just had this conversation with Henry.
13:03He's like, man, yeah, you know, I'm trying to get to that point where I can run the show too.
13:07But you're already doing it.
13:08You know, you can't wait to rise to the occasion to become somebody.
13:11Like you've got to do it and live it right now.
13:13And I think everybody on our team, in our defense specifically, you know, we talked about Reed.
13:17Reed came in first day.
13:20He didn't care about saying the wrong thing.
13:21He was saying something.
13:22The thing is, it's like, you know, he knows his stuff.
13:25But obviously when you come into a new scheme, there's little intricacies and stuff like that.
13:29So it's times he's saying something and he's saying the wrong thing.
13:31And I yell at him like the right thing.
13:32But it's like it's not personal.
13:34It's like, bro, please don't stop talking.
13:36Please do exactly what you're doing.
13:37And we're all going to get on the same page.
13:39Because in December and January, it's going to be that communication that we started in OTAs that's going to carry
13:46us to where we're trying to get to.
13:48So, I mean, I love it.
13:49Because, like I said, Nick and D'Amico bring all the right people in here.
13:51And then it just builds a culture.
13:53And we just build off of that as an entire team.
13:55When are you launching the podcast, man?
13:58When I start doing podcasts, my stomach's going to be bigger than my arm.
14:02Oh, what are you saying?
14:04What are you saying?
14:05I'm just saying.
14:06They can't see you.
14:07They can't see you.
14:08Yeah, they can't.
14:09We got a camera right here.
14:11Damn.
14:11My bad, bro.
14:12I guess, I guess, I don't want to, but I guess we've got to talk a little bit of football
14:16just on the first day.
14:17What did you see on your side of the ball and on the opposite side of the ball today?
14:21Man, just iron sharpening iron.
14:22You know, day one, fundamental stuff, basic stuff.
14:26But, you know, I think what was cool is, you know, D'Amico talked about the team meeting.
14:30You know, we're not going back to ground zero.
14:33Like, we built a foundation from OTAs of what this team is going to be.
14:36So, day one, it's not, you know, riding a bike like tricycles.
14:41Like, no, we're getting going.
14:43And you saw that, you know, with the plays, some of the plays that we had in, offensively and defensively.
14:47Just working our techniques.
14:49And it was plays made on both sides.
14:50You know, even there was one play that specifically for me was Graham.
14:54You know, he threw a deep out.
14:57And I want to say Brandon covered.
14:58He had great coverage.
14:59It was a great throw, great catch, great coverage.
15:03But that's NFL football.
15:04So, it's like just, I mean, you saw that all day.
15:07So, I mean, it was just great competition all over the board.
15:09And just excited because, again, it's day one.
15:12So, we just got to keep stacking.
15:13Aziz, I want to play a little word association with you because the linebacker room, there's a lot of dudes
15:17in there.
15:18And there's going to be a role that I know EJ Speed was kind of holding that's now kind of
15:22vacated.
15:23So, I want to get a better feel for the rest of your room like only you know.
15:26So, I'm just going to say a name.
15:27You give me a word or a quick phrase.
15:29You don't even have to explain it if you don't want to.
15:30All right.
15:31You ready?
15:32All right.
15:32Wade Woodass.
15:35Brian Bosworth.
15:36Bosworth.
15:37Okay.
15:37Wow.
15:38All right.
15:38Okay.
15:39So, he's got a little something.
15:40Yeah.
15:41I like Wade.
15:42Wade's from Tampa, man.
15:43I got it.
15:43Okay.
15:43Very good.
15:44All right.
15:44All right.
15:45How about Marte Mapu?
15:47Marte.
15:51Smooth Assassin.
15:52Ooh.
15:53Okay.
15:53All right.
15:54Jake Hummel.
15:55Jake Hummel.
15:56That's Iron Man.
15:58All right.
15:58Okay.
15:59Jake Hanson.
16:00Jake Hanson.
16:02That's Captain America.
16:04Okay.
16:04All right.
16:04I see what we're doing here.
16:05Jamal Hill.
16:06Jamal Hill.
16:08That's baby DeMario Davis.
16:10That's right.
16:10Ooh.
16:11Okay.
16:11Aiden Fisher.
16:12Aiden Fisher.
16:13That's like a...
16:15I see Aiden Fisher as like, again, like the Winter Soldier.
16:19I see him on that type of line.
16:20All right.
16:21And KC Osi?
16:22KC Osi.
16:23KC Osi.
16:24That's the Black Panther.
16:28I love it.
16:28I love it.
16:29And then I don't want to leave him out.
16:30You're a partner.
16:31Henry Toto.
16:32Come on, that's Big Oose, man.
16:34Big Oose.
16:35I love it.
16:36I love it.
16:37He is really stuck.
16:38What about Aziz?
16:39Man, just trying to figure it out.
16:42He's trying to figure it out.
16:43Hey, you say you're trying.
16:44I think you've got some things figured out.
16:45We always appreciate you giving us some time.
16:47Honestly, I would like to talk to you for as long as you'd willing to stay.
16:50But you've already worked today.
16:51You've got meetings.
16:52You've got to cool off.
16:54Aziz, we greatly appreciate you.
16:55Not just who you are on the football field because you're fantastic,
16:58but who you are in every facet of life.
17:00Always, always appreciate you giving us some of your time.
17:02I appreciate you guys having me.
17:03Thank you, man.
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