June 22, 2023 • 24 mins
Antoine Caldwell played center and guard for the Texans from 2009 through 2012. Before that, he was teammates with DeMeco Ryans at Alabama, and playing for head coaches Mike Shula and Nick Saban. Caldwell shared with Drew Dougherty of Texans TV about his current life, playing at 'Bama, his thoughts on the current Texans squad and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
The two thousand and nine rookie class for the Houston
Texans was loaded. Think about it. At the top, you
had the rookie of the year that season in linebacker
Brian Cushing, here's the first round pick out of usc
followed it up with Connor Barwin who O. Nine had
a solid rookie year first game of ten, had an
awful injury and missed that entire year, but then double
(00:25):
digit sacks in twenty eleven, and then after that you
had guys like Glover Quinn and Bryce McCain, Anthony Hill
and Arion Foster and Tim Jamison in the undrafted area.
Of those two guys, but in the third round, the
Texans got a solid interior offensive lineman and Antoine Caldwell.
He stuck around for a few years, had been an
(00:45):
All American at Alabama. In these days, he's back in
Houston and he's dropped a few lbs from his playing days.
So this was fun catching up with ac. Hope you
enjoy Antwine Caldwell. Where Are They Now? Welcome into Where
Are They Now? This one features Antwine Caldwell, slim, slender
and svelt welcomer offensive lineman for the Texans. You're looking good, man.
(01:10):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Man, I'm doing great, Drew.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I really appreciate you having me on and I appreciate
that con introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, you grew up in Bama, grew up wanting to
be a running back or a quarterback for the Tide.
You've got to Tuscaloosa, but you're one of the best
offensive linemen that school's ever had. You play four years there.
And what are you doing these days? And what's going on?
Where are you?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, I'm here in Houston, specifically in Missouri City, right
outside of Houston. And I've been in the energy business
now for about six years, so specifically more natural gas
sales here in town.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And man, it's been great. It's been great.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
You know, no complaints, got married, got two little girls,
so my hands are full of most days.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
But man, life is good.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
That's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
What have you thought recently about the hiring of your
former teammate both in college and with the Texans, Demiko Ryans.
I imagine you were not surprised by it that he
could be a head coach, But what did you think
of it?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
And it's it's incredible, Like honestly, all the all the
cliche buzzwords you can throw out, they all they all
hit home. You know, everybody knows Demiko obviously as a
great player, but you know, just been knowing Tomko just
as a man. I don't know if I can recall
a more consistent man and person than Demiko. I mean,
unbelievable leader, unbelievable presence, and I think everybody that knows
(02:31):
the Mikos, everybody says the same thing. So you know,
it's an incredible hard to get him back here in Houston,
and I'm very proud for him and his family.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, you know, I interviewed him before that Cotton Bowl
game back in Alato five earlier six, and then I
worked here for the Texans his last three years here
as a player and saw him up close a little
bit more. It's it's kind of like I mentioned a
moment ago, it's not surprising that he is the head coach,
yet it's stunning that he's the head coach here. I
thought it was too good to be true. Really, you
(03:00):
kind of along those same lines.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
I guess I'll say yes and no. I just I
think that it was clear that he was going to
be a head coach. I think like you said, everybody
that kind of knew him, you know, it was kind
of one of those things. If he wanted to be
a head coach, he would be at some point. But
I do think it's kind of surreal. You know, it's
kind of storybook to come back to your team that
drafted you and when you kind of were homegrown, and
(03:23):
that part of it is just again, it's just amazing
to kind of see. So I know he is fired
up about it, though he was fired up about it,
and you know, it's just it's great to see it
kind of go the right way.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Tell me about your career at Alabama. You started so
many games there, you were an All American your final
year there. Yet you played for two coaches. You played
for Shula and you played for Saban. That's quite a
change from who whoever was before next day, it doesn't
matter who it is. That's a big change when he
comes in and takes over, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, Yeah, it sure is. But you know, I think
I was incredibly close with coach Sula. You know, still
still keep in touch with him from time to time,
and you know, he was the one of the coach
that brought me in, so always had a great relationship
with him, and you know, it was quite the shift honestly,
from from him to Nick, not not so much from
(04:12):
you know, some of the things that we were doing,
you know, on the field, but just more off the field.
You know, it's a lot of different you know things
that Nick came in and he implemented, you know, different
programs and systems. And again, obviously you couldn't deny his
his his you know, his reputation and some of the
stuff that he had done in the past.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So I think it was just amazing to kind of
see that shift.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And we were a little bit resistant, you know, early on,
kind of like who's this guy? But then he gets
in there, you know, and literally after the first team
being just knew like, okay, this is kind of a
new share in town, and you know, it's kind of
off to the races from there.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, and in their own ways, each of those two
men had very deep knowledge and very deep insight about
the NFL, and I'm sure that kind of melded a
little bit into helping get you ready for the league. Right.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Absolutely, I think that is huge, I really do. I
think having coaches that had that insight in you know,
expertise to the next level is huge. You know, you
can literally go to those guys and have those conversations
where they literally close the door and say, hey, this
is what these teams are looking for, or this is
what this scout is looking at.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Those type of things I think is incredibly.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Beneficial for players when they're getting ready to go to
the next level.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So I think it definitely helped me out a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
You see some of that, like coming to Fruition with
guys like Will Anderson and Henry Toto. They're the latest
that played for SABAN and then you know, before that
last year Christian Harris, and we'll see about John Matchew
because of all the stuff that he's having to go through.
But certainly playing for SABAN is going to get you
a little bit extra prepared for the NFL, probably more
so than playing for some other coaches.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Right, no doubt. And I think again a lot of
people know that about Nick.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I mean, he's done it all right, but it's it's
like I said, it's his reputation, it's his credibility when
he says, hey, I've been at.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
The next level them, I know what to look for.
These are the things specifically.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I'd like for you to improve on you know, and
that's what Nick's always been about it say, steady small
improvements daily, and you know, to be able to have
like a you know, a real goal to kind of
scratch off every day or every month or every off
season is huge. And that's what he kind of implemented
when he came to Alabama for us.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Take me back to draft weekend two thousand and nine.
You're hoping to get your name called. What was it like?
Set the story for us, and then tell us what
happened once the call came in.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, you know, I didn't really have a lot of
like meetings with a lot of teams. So I heard
a lot of different players that I were close with,
and like, hey, I met with so and so. Hey
I met with so and so. So I was kind
of I was kind of more.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Like, uh, does that mean something wrong that I hadn't
met with a lot of teams? But I kind of yeah,
so I'm kind of going into it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I really didn't know what to really expect, and I
kind of had kind of a range where I thought
I kind of would be drafted all the way from
like you know to the fourth Grand so I kind
of didn't know where things were going, and so kind
of on draft day I thought I was going to
kind of go. The day before had had a call
or two and that that didn't work out. And then
the next day I kind of was actually helped. I
was more relaxed going into day two, and I was
(07:16):
kind of like, you know what, I don't really know
what's going to happen today.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And when the draft started, I just.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Remember being hadving all my family around and you know,
I was actually my phone was on the table, kind
of like a movie scene, and I was getting ready
to go outside to kind of just shoot some hoops,
relax a little bit. Then I hear the phone ring,
so immediately I whipped my head around. I run over
and I look at the phone. I see an eight
three two area code. I'm like, being a three three
four Alabama and I'm like, I have seen this. So
(07:42):
I look up at the screen. I'm like, Houston. Then
I looked down on that I say, Houston said, oh man, this.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Is the Texans.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So so I picked it up. Rick was on the line,
and kind of, you know, the rest is history. From
there was a great conversation. I was super excited to
be a Texan.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah, and you joined an offensive line that was pretty
darn good, you know, and Gary Kubiak and that offense
had really started to get going and do some things.
And we would see that offensive line really paved the
way for those eleven and twelve football teams that went
to the playoffs. What was it like when you get
to town and you are in the room with a
lot of those guys because you had Dwayne Brown and
(08:20):
Chris Myers and Wade's well, Wade Smith came later, but
Eric Winston, a lot of really good players on that
offensive line.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, it was. It was amazing. It was a great
It's probably the best experience I could ever have being
a rookie.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And I don't know a lot of people know the
late great Ales Gibbs, but he was here. Then it
was the coach with Coach Ben and I don't think
as a rookie I could have had any better leadership,
in better guidance for kind of developing as a rookie.
Having gives it all of his years of experience, and then,
like you said, having guys like Dwayne and Chris and
(08:53):
Eric and all those guys ended up being pro bowlers,
you know, and then Wade came in later, and you know, it.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Was just a great It was a great group. You know.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It was a little bit I guess you could say
a little bit daunting when I first got here, knowing
that you know, their their accolades and achievements, But once
I kind of got in the room with them, they
made me feel like family from day one.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So it was a great group.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
You brought up Gibbs and he was there, I think
that one year at the end nine. He's there before,
but O nine I think was around about his last year.
Maybe another. But back then, when you'd go to a
road game, you go through security here at Energy Stadium,
and then you get on the bus and there were
three buses for the team and then one bus for
everybody else. And I was on the everybody else bus.
(09:36):
Like every time I got on that everybody else bus,
and I was usually one of the first on it.
Alex Gibbs was always on that everybody else bus, in
the very front row ahead of everyone else. Yeah, his
watch waiting to go and that thing wasn't leaving for
another twenty thirty minutes, but he was there wearing his
loafers and his sportcoat ready to rock.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Man. Man, he was, seriously, I mean I wish, I
wish everybody could experience.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Gibbs for the and the bad, because he was he
was quite a man, quite a character.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But honestly, from a pure football perspective, his knowledge and
experience and inside of the game, I mean, it's unmatched
from offensive line play for a lot of people that
watch offensive line play nowadays. I mean, I would think
half of the league runs his system that he kind
of helped create back in the day. So you know,
it was a great man. I couldn't answer any better
when I first came in.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, what was your rookie year?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Like?
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Take us through it because it's a big one for
the franchise, the first time the Texans had ever been
over five hundred. They went nine and seven that year
and win that final game against the Patriots, and for
a few hours there was a chance of getting the playoffs,
but things didn't work out with some other teams. What
was that You're like for you because it was big
for the organization, but you were going through your own
things as a professional for the very first time in
(10:50):
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
That's right, Man, Drew. Honestly, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I don't think there's ever been a longer year in
my life, just from preparing to you know, get get
drafted and you just go straight into it, and then
having that type of season where it just kind of
pouring everything you can into it. But it was so
rewarded and honestly, like you would hear the stories of man,
we haven't had a winning season and haven't done this,
and haven't done that, and to really be right on
(11:15):
the cusp at the end of the season, like you
said in great memory by the way, bringing all that up,
it was great to see, honestly, and you can kind
of tell that we.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Were starting to kind of turn the corner a little bit.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Guys are starting to believe, and you know, I think
a lot of people were buying in to what Kubak
was doing, and I feel like we had kind of
started to turn the corner.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
So it was great to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, one of the reasons you guys were so good
that year was that rookie class and they would really
help out in the years to come as well. But
think about the production from that class. You at the top,
you had Brian Cushing in the first round. You had
Connor Barwin, who would have a double digit sack season
with the Texans and then going to Pro Bowls elsewhere.
You all said Glover Quinn, he's one of the best
lions in history, and he was really really good here.
(12:02):
Arion Foster didn't even get drafted, but he wound up
being who he was. Tim Jambs is another undrafted rookie
who actually got called up before Arian did that season.
But a lot of guys that I'm leaving a few out,
I'm sure did you feel a special kinship with those guys?
You still feel and have a special kinship with those guys.
I didn't mention James Casey, Anthony Hill. They need to
be mentioned too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I really do, Drew.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
That's a great question, And I do think that that
was a special group, you know, and you asked the
question before we kind of got started kind of keeping
in touch with guys, kind of all of them periodically.
You know, we'll even if it's on a group chat
or you know, if you run into somebody at dinner
or wherever it is.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
You know, it's always like you kind of pick up
where you left off.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
And I do think that was kind of a sign
of how close our group was, you know, let alone
the impact that some of us maybe had on the
player side. But just you know, great people, great men,
and everybody's family man now and kind of seeing how
everybody's kind of spread out in different places.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
It's just awesome to see.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
What's your favorite memory as of Houston, Texan, And that's you.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Know, it's a lot of them, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I think, you know, I always think about the games
that we had, you know, I think when we won
we clinched the playoff Birthday Cincinnati, I think that was
in twenty eleven was a big one. I think there
was a game maybe in twenty ten. I think we
played the Commanders at Washington. I remember being down like
twenty in the fourth to start the fourth quarter and
(13:26):
kind of remembering how yep and kind of remembering how
Andre kind of took over that fourth quarter and how
we ended up coming back to win that one, and
you know, just man, it's a lot of different memories,
and I think personally, for me, probably where I had
the most like kind of starstruck moment. I think we
were playing Baltimore at Baltimore in the second round, being
(13:47):
there and kind of getting in that game and seeing
like ray Lewis and some of those guys for the first.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Time being right across room was kind of.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Like one of those moments like man, this is this
is insane, but then having it kind of snap back
to it like hey, I got a job, like I
got to get you know, get gone. So you know,
just having those type of memories and stuff that I'll
never forget and it's just a great experience.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I'm glad you brought that game up because that's one
of the all time dog fights in franchise history, and
it was just one of those games you leave and
you know, like you were that close, but you everything
was left out there. Not that it's not on other days,
but goodness pacious, that was a slobber knocker. JJ Watt
(14:28):
he has said that's the greatest game he's ever been
a part of. Wow though, even though the Texans didn't
come out on top of it. Yeah, take me back
to that Chili day in Baltimore in mid January twenty ten.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
That's it. Honestly, I could probably could summon up better.
I mean, I just remember everything from the bus ride
to the stadium, how crazy it was kind of going
there and then you know, when we came out for
foremost kind of saying it is, yeah, it is crisp
out here, but it was beautiful, like a beautiful there's
a perfect playoff game setting, you know. And I kind
of went into that game, you know, knowing that knowing
(15:02):
that Baltimore had a great team. Obviously you see it
on them, you knew the background and the pedigree. But
I felt going into that game, I felt that we
matched up pretty well with and I thought that, you know,
we had a great week of work. I was like,
you know what, we really can come in here and
I feel like we're just as good as those guys are.
You know, as you said as one of the day,
they said, one of the best games he's you know,
(15:23):
he's been a part of.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I kind of felt like that back and forth the
whole game.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I felt like at no point that I felt like
we were a lesser team, and that's what you want
in playoff games.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And you know, I remember that being there.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
You know, we came up short, but you know, it's
amazing to be in that in that environment.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah, one of the many things I remember from that
game was pre pre game on the field, just looking
around once once the fans were let in, because that
doesn't happen, I think until about two hours prior to
kick off and the team gets there four hours ahead
or three and a half. But I remember, you know,
it's kind of empty and there's just stadium workers doing
their thing before the game. But then the fans are
(16:01):
let in, and it seemed like I blinked and just
all along the first row, the entire field, I mean,
the whole circle, it was all battle red. It was
all Texans fans ye traveled or come in from wherever
to cheer on the Texans on the road. It was
really an eye opening experience. I don't ever remember that,
or I hadn't remembered that prior right to that playoff game,
(16:23):
and it was it was really freaking cool. Do you
remember that too, Is that that spark anything?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And that's kind of when I was saying the environment
I had never seen us, I guess, kind of take
over like a stadium and that energy in that buzz,
you know, like I said, even from you know, right
before we went out for warm ups, you could just
slowly start to kind of feel it and see it
build and it's kind of like, man, this is this
is amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
To be a part of. And yeah, I remember like
you do, Drew.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
It was crazy to see, you know, all the fans
and all the support that we had. And now I
think that probably played in a little bit to how
well we played, even though it came short.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah. Out.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
So who do you still keep in touch with and
talking up with from those days?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Man? You know a lot of guys just mainly through text,
but you know obviously the Domico, Dwayne and a lot
of guys.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Oh this is interesting.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
I actually I'm a huge fantasy football fan and I
started a fantasy football league with all of us former guys.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Yeah, so you know you got you know Eric Winston,
Arian Wade.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Wait wait wait did you what did you just say?
What name? Did you just slide in there?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah? Eric Winston, Arian Arian.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Foster Foster, Yes, yes, about cracking on fantasy football when
he was a player. I love that still. I've heard
it from I think Wade let me in and told
me about this a few years back, and I was like,
what we are right right exactly?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, I mean it's times and times have changed, and.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I actually didn't even have the strong on he like
actually wanted to do it, so but yeah, you know,
so we got a couple, you know, we got about
ten or twelve guys in league, and honestly we just
kind of, you know, stay in touch on that and
kind of, you know, go back and forth.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So it's just it's great. It's great to kind of
see where everybody is. That's fun.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
It's cool, you'll keep in touch. It was a special
time in team history if you think about it, franchise history,
it was.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It was and I and again, I think you know,
every time you pick up where you left off of
those guys, you know, you like say you see them
out or you're talking over text or whatever. Man, it's
just always been the same thing.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So it's just great.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Hey, now you're an offensive lineman, but you were on
the offense with Andre Johnson. And one thing that I
do when I talk to all of you guys, because
I do this, I try to do this on a
weekly basis is where are they now? Podcasts? I know it,
you know it. Most of the people that are listening
or watching this know it. But there's some dummies out
there that don't. Why does Andre Johnson belong in the
(18:46):
Pro Football Hall Fame. What's your reasoning for it.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Well, I'll go back to when I first came to
the Texans. I remember during like conditioning and like training camp,
just little stuff like.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
I'm like, oh, au, I'm like this you hear about.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
But watching him work even I think at that point
it was like year like nine or ten, which you know,
he was solidified, right, he didn't have to do all that.
But he'd go run and go route and he'd sprink back,
you know, right afterwards, and get right back up and go.
I had never seen a player of his stature still
work as hard as he did. So from a peer
(19:25):
like work perspective, I would say that, but then you
look at the production and the performance and everything he
put on the field. I mean it's like it's almost
a no brainer. I don't know how it hadn't happened yet,
but you know, I think, you know, we keep the
faith and I think he'll I think he'll end up
getting over the hump.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah for sure. Yeah, It's That's one of the things
when I started that it was a common refrain from
young players experienced players, is how hard he worked in
the offseason, how hard he worked in the weight room,
how hard he worked just basically what you didn't see
on game day. You know, all that stuff that he
was doing before hand is one of the reasons he
(20:01):
was so excellent on game day.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It was and you know, it would literally I'd be
times in the weight room, I'm just like, I'm.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Supposed to be doing what I'm doing. I'm just watching him.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
We might not even be doing the same lifts or exercise,
but everything he did was so intentional, like he had
a purpose, like he knew he was in there and
to handle his business.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And he showed me.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Kind of early on what kind of work ethic is
needed to be successful in the in the league. And
you know, and I still, you know, I'll tell anybody.
You know, I was like, you know, it's a couple
of guys I can think of when I was playing
that those had that type of effect on people.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Andre is definitely one of those guys.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
That's cool. It was really cool to see you and
see him and a lot of your former teammates and
a lot of guys who came before you, some guys
who came after you show up on that media day
that Demiko was announced as the head coach and then
you were here with a lot of those guys just
a few days ago watching practice. What's it been like
kind of interacting with them and being sort of a
(21:02):
part of things now that Demiko is back in the
fold and coaching.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You know, I think.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Everybody is just just a static, Like everybody's excited. You
can feel the energy kind of the enthusiasm around the building.
And it's been amazing, you know, it really has. Even
from the when he was announced that at the press conference,
you just kind of, you know, it felt literally felt
like game day or something right, like the buzz in
the building like when you walked in, like everybody is
(21:28):
just pulling in the same direction, and you know, it's
it's kind of unique to have that type of feeling
in a building.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And you know, everybody knows.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
The Miko obviously as a great person and a great player,
but I also think, you know, from him now being
a leader of this organization and of his team, I
think the best really is yet to come.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, no doubt. Tell me about being at practice and
what you saw of the current team. Don't know how
much you got to watch because you know, you guys
are interacting and having fun, but sertinly all some of it.
What were you noticing what was sticking out to you
when you saw these twenty twenty three Texans practicing in
early June.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Honestly, it looked it looked great.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
I think the kind of the intensity, the effort that
everybody was was was playing with out there. And even
though it's just OTA's right, but you still want to
see early on. You want to see guys really, you know,
getting after it a little bit and taking it seriously.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
And that's that's how it looks. I think the organization, how.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Everything was laid out, the efficiency or practice, I mean,
it was it was great to see.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
I actually tasted Miko to tell on that.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I said, hey man, this I love the way everything
was kind of rolling after the day and you know,
it's just.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
It's been great to see it again.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I think they'll keep that, you know, keep that same
tempo and mindset going in the training.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Can.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
I know they're defensive guys, but they're Bama guys. What
did you think of Henry Tooto and then the big one,
Willie Anderson Junior getting picked by the Texans. How happy
were you about that? What's the what's the intel? You
can give us as a former Alabama grade as well.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I was. I was super excited to see that.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
And honestly, specifically Will, I think Will being that top
defensive pick, he's kind of going to be in an
extension of Domico, right, I mean, he's kind of gonna
end up being that you want him to be that
leader and that lead by example type of guy. And
you know, even when Dimico played, I mean he was
never just the hugest raw rack guy, right, but he
(23:22):
led by example every single day. And that's what I've
always heard about.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Will.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Had an opportunity to meet him once or twice, and
he's always even to kind of seeing He's always in
that mode like, hey, I'm all about business, professionalism, wanted
to be that leader, and I think Will is going
to provide those some of those same qualities that Dimko
had as a player and as a person.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
I was in Kansas City for that first night of
the draft and I got to meet both he and C. J.
Stroud and it was a brief interaction, but everything you
just said meshes with everything I observed and saw that
first night that he was here. So, Antoine, what is
next for you? What's on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Well, you know, I think, you know, just day to day, man,
I'm really enjoying what I'm doing nowadays. And again, you know,
full time dad. You know, got two girls and they
keep me, keep us pretty busy. But you know, just
you know, traveling and being being very thankful for how
things have played out, and you know, just very happy
at this at this part of my life. So you know,
(24:23):
just keep going day to day and hope I don't
screw any things up along the way.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I doubt you will. Man, I'm happy that you're happy.
It's good to hear that and good to see that.
And I can't wait to see you around the stadium
again sometime soon. Antoine Caldwell, where are they now? It
has been a pleasure, my friend.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Thank you, Drew, thank you so much for having me.
The two thousand and nine rookie class for the Houston
Texans was loaded. Think about it. At the top, you
had the rookie of the year that season in linebacker
Brian Cushing, here's the first round pick out of usc
followed it up with Connor Barwin who O. Nine had
a solid rookie year first game of ten, had an
awful injury and missed that entire year, but then double
(00:25):
digit sacks in twenty eleven, and then after that you
had guys like Glover Quinn and Bryce McCain, Anthony Hill
and Arion Foster and Tim Jamison in the undrafted area.
Of those two guys, but in the third round, the
Texans got a solid interior offensive lineman and Antoine Caldwell.
He stuck around for a few years, had been an
(00:45):
All American at Alabama. In these days, he's back in
Houston and he's dropped a few lbs from his playing days.
So this was fun catching up with ac. Hope you
enjoy Antwine Caldwell. Where Are They Now? Welcome into Where
Are They Now? This one features Antwine Caldwell, slim, slender
and svelt welcomer offensive lineman for the Texans. You're looking good, man.
(01:10):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Man, I'm doing great, Drew.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I really appreciate you having me on and I appreciate
that con introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, you grew up in Bama, grew up wanting to
be a running back or a quarterback for the Tide.
You've got to Tuscaloosa, but you're one of the best
offensive linemen that school's ever had. You play four years there.
And what are you doing these days? And what's going on?
Where are you?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, I'm here in Houston, specifically in Missouri City, right
outside of Houston. And I've been in the energy business
now for about six years, so specifically more natural gas
sales here in town.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And man, it's been great. It's been great.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
You know, no complaints, got married, got two little girls,
so my hands are full of most days.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
But man, life is good.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
That's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
What have you thought recently about the hiring of your
former teammate both in college and with the Texans, Demiko Ryans.
I imagine you were not surprised by it that he
could be a head coach, But what did you think
of it?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
And it's it's incredible, Like honestly, all the all the
cliche buzzwords you can throw out, they all they all
hit home. You know, everybody knows Demiko obviously as a
great player, but you know, just been knowing Tomko just
as a man. I don't know if I can recall
a more consistent man and person than Demiko. I mean,
unbelievable leader, unbelievable presence, and I think everybody that knows
(02:31):
the Mikos, everybody says the same thing. So you know,
it's an incredible hard to get him back here in Houston,
and I'm very proud for him and his family.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, you know, I interviewed him before that Cotton Bowl
game back in Alato five earlier six, and then I
worked here for the Texans his last three years here
as a player and saw him up close a little
bit more. It's it's kind of like I mentioned a
moment ago, it's not surprising that he is the head coach,
yet it's stunning that he's the head coach here. I
thought it was too good to be true. Really, you
(03:00):
kind of along those same lines.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
I guess I'll say yes and no. I just I
think that it was clear that he was going to
be a head coach. I think like you said, everybody
that kind of knew him, you know, it was kind
of one of those things. If he wanted to be
a head coach, he would be at some point. But
I do think it's kind of surreal. You know, it's
kind of storybook to come back to your team that
drafted you and when you kind of were homegrown, and
(03:23):
that part of it is just again, it's just amazing
to kind of see. So I know he is fired
up about it, though he was fired up about it,
and you know, it's just it's great to see it
kind of go the right way.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Tell me about your career at Alabama. You started so
many games there, you were an All American your final
year there. Yet you played for two coaches. You played
for Shula and you played for Saban. That's quite a
change from who whoever was before next day, it doesn't
matter who it is. That's a big change when he
comes in and takes over, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, Yeah, it sure is. But you know, I think
I was incredibly close with coach Sula. You know, still
still keep in touch with him from time to time,
and you know, he was the one of the coach
that brought me in, so always had a great relationship
with him, and you know, it was quite the shift honestly,
from from him to Nick, not not so much from
(04:12):
you know, some of the things that we were doing,
you know, on the field, but just more off the field.
You know, it's a lot of different you know things
that Nick came in and he implemented, you know, different
programs and systems. And again, obviously you couldn't deny his
his his you know, his reputation and some of the
stuff that he had done in the past.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So I think it was just amazing to kind of
see that shift.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And we were a little bit resistant, you know, early on,
kind of like who's this guy? But then he gets
in there, you know, and literally after the first team
being just knew like, okay, this is kind of a
new share in town, and you know, it's kind of
off to the races from there.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, and in their own ways, each of those two
men had very deep knowledge and very deep insight about
the NFL, and I'm sure that kind of melded a
little bit into helping get you ready for the league. Right.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Absolutely, I think that is huge, I really do. I
think having coaches that had that insight in you know,
expertise to the next level is huge. You know, you
can literally go to those guys and have those conversations
where they literally close the door and say, hey, this
is what these teams are looking for, or this is
what this scout is looking at.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Those type of things I think is incredibly.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Beneficial for players when they're getting ready to go to
the next level.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So I think it definitely helped me out a lot.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
You see some of that, like coming to Fruition with
guys like Will Anderson and Henry Toto. They're the latest
that played for SABAN and then you know, before that
last year Christian Harris, and we'll see about John Matchew
because of all the stuff that he's having to go through.
But certainly playing for SABAN is going to get you
a little bit extra prepared for the NFL, probably more
so than playing for some other coaches.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Right, no doubt. And I think again a lot of
people know that about Nick.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I mean, he's done it all right, but it's it's
like I said, it's his reputation, it's his credibility when
he says, hey, I've been at.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
The next level them, I know what to look for.
These are the things specifically.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I'd like for you to improve on you know, and
that's what Nick's always been about it say, steady small
improvements daily, and you know, to be able to have
like a you know, a real goal to kind of
scratch off every day or every month or every off
season is huge. And that's what he kind of implemented
when he came to Alabama for us.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Take me back to draft weekend two thousand and nine.
You're hoping to get your name called. What was it like?
Set the story for us, and then tell us what
happened once the call came in.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, you know, I didn't really have a lot of
like meetings with a lot of teams. So I heard
a lot of different players that I were close with,
and like, hey, I met with so and so. Hey
I met with so and so. So I was kind
of I was kind of more.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Like, uh, does that mean something wrong that I hadn't
met with a lot of teams? But I kind of yeah,
so I'm kind of going into it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I really didn't know what to really expect, and I
kind of had kind of a range where I thought
I kind of would be drafted all the way from
like you know to the fourth Grand so I kind
of didn't know where things were going, and so kind
of on draft day I thought I was going to
kind of go. The day before had had a call
or two and that that didn't work out. And then
the next day I kind of was actually helped. I
was more relaxed going into day two, and I was
(07:16):
kind of like, you know what, I don't really know
what's going to happen today.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And when the draft started, I just.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Remember being hadving all my family around and you know,
I was actually my phone was on the table, kind
of like a movie scene, and I was getting ready
to go outside to kind of just shoot some hoops,
relax a little bit. Then I hear the phone ring,
so immediately I whipped my head around. I run over
and I look at the phone. I see an eight
three two area code. I'm like, being a three three
four Alabama and I'm like, I have seen this. So
(07:42):
I look up at the screen. I'm like, Houston. Then
I looked down on that I say, Houston said, oh man, this.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Is the Texans.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So so I picked it up. Rick was on the line,
and kind of, you know, the rest is history. From
there was a great conversation. I was super excited to
be a Texan.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah, and you joined an offensive line that was pretty
darn good, you know, and Gary Kubiak and that offense
had really started to get going and do some things.
And we would see that offensive line really paved the
way for those eleven and twelve football teams that went
to the playoffs. What was it like when you get
to town and you are in the room with a
lot of those guys because you had Dwayne Brown and
(08:20):
Chris Myers and Wade's well, Wade Smith came later, but
Eric Winston, a lot of really good players on that
offensive line.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, it was. It was amazing. It was a great
It's probably the best experience I could ever have being
a rookie.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And I don't know a lot of people know the
late great Ales Gibbs, but he was here. Then it
was the coach with Coach Ben and I don't think
as a rookie I could have had any better leadership,
in better guidance for kind of developing as a rookie.
Having gives it all of his years of experience, and then,
like you said, having guys like Dwayne and Chris and
(08:53):
Eric and all those guys ended up being pro bowlers,
you know, and then Wade came in later, and you know, it.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Was just a great It was a great group. You know.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It was a little bit I guess you could say
a little bit daunting when I first got here, knowing
that you know, their their accolades and achievements, But once
I kind of got in the room with them, they
made me feel like family from day one.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So it was a great group.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
You brought up Gibbs and he was there, I think
that one year at the end nine. He's there before,
but O nine I think was around about his last year.
Maybe another. But back then, when you'd go to a
road game, you go through security here at Energy Stadium,
and then you get on the bus and there were
three buses for the team and then one bus for
everybody else. And I was on the everybody else bus.
(09:36):
Like every time I got on that everybody else bus,
and I was usually one of the first on it.
Alex Gibbs was always on that everybody else bus, in
the very front row ahead of everyone else. Yeah, his
watch waiting to go and that thing wasn't leaving for
another twenty thirty minutes, but he was there wearing his
loafers and his sportcoat ready to rock.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Man. Man, he was, seriously, I mean I wish, I
wish everybody could experience.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Gibbs for the and the bad, because he was he
was quite a man, quite a character.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But honestly, from a pure football perspective, his knowledge and
experience and inside of the game, I mean, it's unmatched
from offensive line play for a lot of people that
watch offensive line play nowadays. I mean, I would think
half of the league runs his system that he kind
of helped create back in the day. So you know,
it was a great man. I couldn't answer any better
when I first came in.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, what was your rookie year?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Like?
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Take us through it because it's a big one for
the franchise, the first time the Texans had ever been
over five hundred. They went nine and seven that year
and win that final game against the Patriots, and for
a few hours there was a chance of getting the playoffs,
but things didn't work out with some other teams. What
was that You're like for you because it was big
for the organization, but you were going through your own
things as a professional for the very first time in
(10:50):
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
That's right, Man, Drew. Honestly, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I don't think there's ever been a longer year in
my life, just from preparing to you know, get get
drafted and you just go straight into it, and then
having that type of season where it just kind of
pouring everything you can into it. But it was so
rewarded and honestly, like you would hear the stories of man,
we haven't had a winning season and haven't done this,
and haven't done that, and to really be right on
(11:15):
the cusp at the end of the season, like you
said in great memory by the way, bringing all that up,
it was great to see, honestly, and you can kind
of tell that we.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Were starting to kind of turn the corner a little bit.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Guys are starting to believe, and you know, I think
a lot of people were buying in to what Kubak
was doing, and I feel like we had kind of
started to turn the corner.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
So it was great to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, one of the reasons you guys were so good
that year was that rookie class and they would really
help out in the years to come as well. But
think about the production from that class. You at the top,
you had Brian Cushing in the first round. You had
Connor Barwin, who would have a double digit sack season
with the Texans and then going to Pro Bowls elsewhere.
You all said Glover Quinn, he's one of the best
lions in history, and he was really really good here.
(12:02):
Arion Foster didn't even get drafted, but he wound up
being who he was. Tim Jambs is another undrafted rookie
who actually got called up before Arian did that season.
But a lot of guys that I'm leaving a few out,
I'm sure did you feel a special kinship with those guys?
You still feel and have a special kinship with those guys.
I didn't mention James Casey, Anthony Hill. They need to
be mentioned too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I really do, Drew.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
That's a great question, And I do think that that
was a special group, you know, and you asked the
question before we kind of got started kind of keeping
in touch with guys, kind of all of them periodically.
You know, we'll even if it's on a group chat
or you know, if you run into somebody at dinner
or wherever it is.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
You know, it's always like you kind of pick up
where you left off.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
And I do think that was kind of a sign
of how close our group was, you know, let alone
the impact that some of us maybe had on the
player side. But just you know, great people, great men,
and everybody's family man now and kind of seeing how
everybody's kind of spread out in different places.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
It's just awesome to see.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
What's your favorite memory as of Houston, Texan, And that's you.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Know, it's a lot of them, you know.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I think, you know, I always think about the games
that we had, you know, I think when we won
we clinched the playoff Birthday Cincinnati, I think that was
in twenty eleven was a big one. I think there
was a game maybe in twenty ten. I think we
played the Commanders at Washington. I remember being down like
twenty in the fourth to start the fourth quarter and
(13:26):
kind of remembering how yep and kind of remembering how
Andre kind of took over that fourth quarter and how
we ended up coming back to win that one, and
you know, just man, it's a lot of different memories,
and I think personally, for me, probably where I had
the most like kind of starstruck moment. I think we
were playing Baltimore at Baltimore in the second round, being
(13:47):
there and kind of getting in that game and seeing
like ray Lewis and some of those guys for the first.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Time being right across room was kind of.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Like one of those moments like man, this is this
is insane, but then having it kind of snap back
to it like hey, I got a job, like I
got to get you know, get gone. So you know,
just having those type of memories and stuff that I'll
never forget and it's just a great experience.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I'm glad you brought that game up because that's one
of the all time dog fights in franchise history, and
it was just one of those games you leave and
you know, like you were that close, but you everything
was left out there. Not that it's not on other days,
but goodness pacious, that was a slobber knocker. JJ Watt
(14:28):
he has said that's the greatest game he's ever been
a part of. Wow though, even though the Texans didn't
come out on top of it. Yeah, take me back
to that Chili day in Baltimore in mid January twenty ten.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
That's it. Honestly, I could probably could summon up better.
I mean, I just remember everything from the bus ride
to the stadium, how crazy it was kind of going
there and then you know, when we came out for
foremost kind of saying it is, yeah, it is crisp
out here, but it was beautiful, like a beautiful there's
a perfect playoff game setting, you know. And I kind
of went into that game, you know, knowing that knowing
(15:02):
that Baltimore had a great team. Obviously you see it
on them, you knew the background and the pedigree. But
I felt going into that game, I felt that we
matched up pretty well with and I thought that, you know,
we had a great week of work. I was like,
you know what, we really can come in here and
I feel like we're just as good as those guys are.
You know, as you said as one of the day,
they said, one of the best games he's you know,
(15:23):
he's been a part of.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I kind of felt like that back and forth the
whole game.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I felt like at no point that I felt like
we were a lesser team, and that's what you want
in playoff games.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And you know, I remember that being there.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
You know, we came up short, but you know, it's
amazing to be in that in that environment.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah, one of the many things I remember from that
game was pre pre game on the field, just looking
around once once the fans were let in, because that
doesn't happen, I think until about two hours prior to
kick off and the team gets there four hours ahead
or three and a half. But I remember, you know,
it's kind of empty and there's just stadium workers doing
their thing before the game. But then the fans are
(16:01):
let in, and it seemed like I blinked and just
all along the first row, the entire field, I mean,
the whole circle, it was all battle red. It was
all Texans fans ye traveled or come in from wherever
to cheer on the Texans on the road. It was
really an eye opening experience. I don't ever remember that,
or I hadn't remembered that prior right to that playoff game,
(16:23):
and it was it was really freaking cool. Do you
remember that too, Is that that spark anything?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And that's kind of when I was saying the environment
I had never seen us, I guess, kind of take
over like a stadium and that energy in that buzz,
you know, like I said, even from you know, right
before we went out for warm ups, you could just
slowly start to kind of feel it and see it
build and it's kind of like, man, this is this
is amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
To be a part of. And yeah, I remember like
you do, Drew.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
It was crazy to see, you know, all the fans
and all the support that we had. And now I
think that probably played in a little bit to how
well we played, even though it came short.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah. Out.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
So who do you still keep in touch with and
talking up with from those days?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Man? You know a lot of guys just mainly through text,
but you know obviously the Domico, Dwayne and a lot
of guys.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Oh this is interesting.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
I actually I'm a huge fantasy football fan and I
started a fantasy football league with all of us former guys.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Yeah, so you know you got you know Eric Winston,
Arian Wade.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Wait wait wait did you what did you just say?
What name? Did you just slide in there?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah? Eric Winston, Arian Arian.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Foster Foster, Yes, yes, about cracking on fantasy football when
he was a player. I love that still. I've heard
it from I think Wade let me in and told
me about this a few years back, and I was like,
what we are right right exactly?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, I mean it's times and times have changed, and.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I actually didn't even have the strong on he like
actually wanted to do it, so but yeah, you know,
so we got a couple, you know, we got about
ten or twelve guys in league, and honestly we just
kind of, you know, stay in touch on that and
kind of, you know, go back and forth.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So it's just it's great. It's great to kind of
see where everybody is. That's fun.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
It's cool, you'll keep in touch. It was a special
time in team history if you think about it, franchise history,
it was.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It was and I and again, I think you know,
every time you pick up where you left off of
those guys, you know, you like say you see them
out or you're talking over text or whatever. Man, it's
just always been the same thing.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So it's just great.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Hey, now you're an offensive lineman, but you were on
the offense with Andre Johnson. And one thing that I
do when I talk to all of you guys, because
I do this, I try to do this on a
weekly basis is where are they now? Podcasts? I know it,
you know it. Most of the people that are listening
or watching this know it. But there's some dummies out
there that don't. Why does Andre Johnson belong in the
(18:46):
Pro Football Hall Fame. What's your reasoning for it.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Well, I'll go back to when I first came to
the Texans. I remember during like conditioning and like training camp,
just little stuff like.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
I'm like, oh, au, I'm like this you hear about.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
But watching him work even I think at that point
it was like year like nine or ten, which you know,
he was solidified, right, he didn't have to do all that.
But he'd go run and go route and he'd sprink back,
you know, right afterwards, and get right back up and go.
I had never seen a player of his stature still
work as hard as he did. So from a peer
(19:25):
like work perspective, I would say that, but then you
look at the production and the performance and everything he
put on the field. I mean it's like it's almost
a no brainer. I don't know how it hadn't happened yet,
but you know, I think, you know, we keep the
faith and I think he'll I think he'll end up
getting over the hump.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah for sure. Yeah, It's That's one of the things
when I started that it was a common refrain from
young players experienced players, is how hard he worked in
the offseason, how hard he worked in the weight room,
how hard he worked just basically what you didn't see
on game day. You know, all that stuff that he
was doing before hand is one of the reasons he
(20:01):
was so excellent on game day.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It was and you know, it would literally I'd be
times in the weight room, I'm just like, I'm.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Supposed to be doing what I'm doing. I'm just watching him.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
We might not even be doing the same lifts or exercise,
but everything he did was so intentional, like he had
a purpose, like he knew he was in there and
to handle his business.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And he showed me.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Kind of early on what kind of work ethic is
needed to be successful in the in the league. And
you know, and I still, you know, I'll tell anybody.
You know, I was like, you know, it's a couple
of guys I can think of when I was playing
that those had that type of effect on people.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Andre is definitely one of those guys.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
That's cool. It was really cool to see you and
see him and a lot of your former teammates and
a lot of guys who came before you, some guys
who came after you show up on that media day
that Demiko was announced as the head coach and then
you were here with a lot of those guys just
a few days ago watching practice. What's it been like
kind of interacting with them and being sort of a
(21:02):
part of things now that Demiko is back in the
fold and coaching.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You know, I think.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Everybody is just just a static, Like everybody's excited. You
can feel the energy kind of the enthusiasm around the building.
And it's been amazing, you know, it really has. Even
from the when he was announced that at the press conference,
you just kind of, you know, it felt literally felt
like game day or something right, like the buzz in
the building like when you walked in, like everybody is
(21:28):
just pulling in the same direction, and you know, it's
it's kind of unique to have that type of feeling
in a building.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And you know, everybody knows.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
The Miko obviously as a great person and a great player,
but I also think, you know, from him now being
a leader of this organization and of his team, I
think the best really is yet to come.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, no doubt. Tell me about being at practice and
what you saw of the current team. Don't know how
much you got to watch because you know, you guys
are interacting and having fun, but sertinly all some of it.
What were you noticing what was sticking out to you
when you saw these twenty twenty three Texans practicing in
early June.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Honestly, it looked it looked great.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
I think the kind of the intensity, the effort that
everybody was was was playing with out there. And even
though it's just OTA's right, but you still want to
see early on. You want to see guys really, you know,
getting after it a little bit and taking it seriously.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
And that's that's how it looks. I think the organization, how.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Everything was laid out, the efficiency or practice, I mean,
it was it was great to see.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
I actually tasted Miko to tell on that.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I said, hey man, this I love the way everything
was kind of rolling after the day and you know,
it's just.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
It's been great to see it again.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I think they'll keep that, you know, keep that same
tempo and mindset going in the training.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Can.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
I know they're defensive guys, but they're Bama guys. What
did you think of Henry Tooto and then the big one,
Willie Anderson Junior getting picked by the Texans. How happy
were you about that? What's the what's the intel? You
can give us as a former Alabama grade as well.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I was. I was super excited to see that.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
And honestly, specifically Will, I think Will being that top
defensive pick, he's kind of going to be in an
extension of Domico, right, I mean, he's kind of gonna
end up being that you want him to be that
leader and that lead by example type of guy. And
you know, even when Dimico played, I mean he was
never just the hugest raw rack guy, right, but he
(23:22):
led by example every single day. And that's what I've
always heard about.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Will.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Had an opportunity to meet him once or twice, and
he's always even to kind of seeing He's always in
that mode like, hey, I'm all about business, professionalism, wanted
to be that leader, and I think Will is going
to provide those some of those same qualities that Dimko
had as a player and as a person.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
I was in Kansas City for that first night of
the draft and I got to meet both he and C. J.
Stroud and it was a brief interaction, but everything you
just said meshes with everything I observed and saw that
first night that he was here. So, Antoine, what is
next for you? What's on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Well, you know, I think, you know, just day to day, man,
I'm really enjoying what I'm doing nowadays. And again, you know,
full time dad. You know, got two girls and they
keep me, keep us pretty busy. But you know, just
you know, traveling and being being very thankful for how
things have played out, and you know, just very happy
at this at this part of my life. So you know,
(24:23):
just keep going day to day and hope I don't
screw any things up along the way.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I doubt you will. Man, I'm happy that you're happy.
It's good to hear that and good to see that.
And I can't wait to see you around the stadium
again sometime soon. Antoine Caldwell, where are they now? It
has been a pleasure, my friend.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Thank you, Drew, thank you so much for having me.
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