May 2, 2025 • 48 mins
Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross joined the Texans Radio Crew in studio and shared his thoughts on the year ahead.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:01):
Welcome to a Friday editsue at Texans All Access from
Monday Texans Radio Studio. I am your host, John Harris,
football analyst, sideline reporter. We got plenty for you tonight.
If you missed our interview with Frank Ross, we got
that for you. You definitely got to hear it. And sometimes
I like to listen to an interview after things have
happened and you go back and you're like, yeah, man,
(00:23):
that interview subject, whoever it was, we caught all. We
caught on that and hit on that, and I think
we did that with our discussion with Frank Ross. And
we had the Monday leading into the draft, so there's
some good stuff there. But we're gonna kick off today's
show with myself and Drew Doherty in the Lab. And
Drew had an idea for the lab. He basically took one,
(00:43):
like one thing out of every interview, out of every
draft prospect that we had, and we had a few
of those the other night, but we decided that we
wanted to finish because Drew had a chance to sit
down with all of these prospects after they were drafted,
and that I gave him a little bit more insight
than anybody else, honestly, and he loved these interviews.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And one of his favorites was the one we start
with right.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Here, Jalen Smith, defensive back from USC. Now, I don't
want to speak for you, but I'm gonna speak for
you because I know you echo this and feel the
same way. Special teams coordinator Frank Ross is one of
our favorite all time coaches in this building.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Right. We love this dude.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
He's awesome.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
I heard after the fact that Ross was ecstatic, ecstatic
with the Jalen Smith pick.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I'm pumped if if that's the case, I'm cool with that.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, late third round, if you get a guy. I
think it was Saturday. Sean Pendergast was here and to
get to studio, you know, he's got to walk the
bowels and he ended up seeing Frank and he said
Frank was bouncing off the walls. You know, you get
noel who can give you reachar Kaylen Smith was a gunner.
(02:04):
It's interesting because I remember Jalen at the Senior Bowl
and as I went back and I tried to find
some of the Senior Bowl clips just to kind of
get an idea again. I remind myself. I was like, man,
I can't find him on day two or three, but
I do remember him being there on day one.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And being successful.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
But you know, I'm kind of big on numbers, and
he wore twenty one at the Senior Bowl. So when
I went back and I watched him at USC, he
was wearing number two. But then a highlight flashed up.
At some point, I'm like, wait, like, who whoa, whoa,
why is that not?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh, I remember nineteen.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
He wore nineteen the year before when he was there
with Kayla Bulleck, and so that's how I was like, oh,
I remember him.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
And then I thought the full low cap two and
he when he left, Jalen took No.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
No.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Two was totally different. Kayalen were seven.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
He had originally wore twenty seven, like as a young buck,
and then he moved to seven. So Jalen won nine
and then he ended up moving to two and and
it threw me off. But then I remembered the nineteen
because I remembered him from the year before, and so
I'm like, but man, he it's not a slot kind
of played the nickel. But then I thought about one
play in particular, Monday Night against the Dallas Cowboys, and look,
(03:18):
Kamante Turpin's gonna beat everybody. I mean, he's one of
the quickest, fastest guys I've ever seen live.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
He's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
But Jeff Acuda got beat so bad, like he wasn't
even the ballpark. Jalen's gonna be able to be that
third guy, whether it covers inside, whether it covers outside.
And maybe it's not even him, but maybe it's Ronald Darby. However,
but the Texas needed a good third cover guy that
if they want to go dime with a coverage aspect
(03:47):
to it, then Jalen Smith can be a third cover guy.
But look, if what you get from Jalen Smith is
he comes in, he covers some people on third down,
and then on fourth down he goes and dominates on
special teams, Hell, yeah, let's go. It's ninety said picking
a draft. You know there's some teams that pick a
kicker there.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And I didn't want to make this seem like, well,
the Texans spent a third round pick on a guy
who's only gonna be a special team round. I'm just
saying these are the little things that like stood out to
me as far as yeahah, I think they.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Have plans for him.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Yes, defensively, absolutely, yeah, absolutely, but clarify there.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
But as Frank told us in the interview, he had
a hard time sleeping after that game against the Chiefs.
He felt like the special teams let a lot of
people down. So to see somebody like Jalen Smith come in,
Jalen Nole come in with some return game.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
That was really super important to Frank.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
To have guys of a high caliber athleticism, and you
get the feeling that Jalen Smith appreciates being on special
teams for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Okay Wood, he marks. J Equavius Marks, running back from
USC four years before that, running back for Mississippi State,
his head coaching college.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
And he brought this up with me. I got a
fly in this.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, my kitchen's messing me up.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
He brought this up with me on the post draft interview. Ah,
my head coach is Lincoln Riley. I watched lots of
tape of Joe Mixon Lincoln Riley because Lincoln was Joe
Mixon's offensive coordinator about a decade ago, give her take
a few at Oklahoma. Well before that, about twenty years ago.
(05:29):
I knew Lincoln Riley and he was a GA, a
low level assistant coach for Texas Tech when I was
out in Lubbock.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And Lincoln, Yeah, I'm a fan of Lincolns. I like him.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
So Lincoln is familiar with a guy named Tarian Henderson
and I know you are too, John, But Tarian played
running back for the Red Raiders, the Aughts, the mid Oughts.
I know his senior year there, which I think was
my first year there, five he set the record for
most catches by running back all time n CUAA history.
(06:02):
Caught lots of catch He was a really productive running back.
Ye for that aread offense very very so what looks
what stands out to me with woody marks. He didn't
do this under Lincoln Riley, but as a sophomore at
Mississippi State, he caught eighty three passes as a sophomore
as a running back. That's in a college season, not
(06:23):
in a seventeen game NFL season. Eighty three passes, John,
that's bananas. I mean that that was the the red
blinking light of all red blinking lights in this entire
draft class. Eighty three catches for a running back as
a sophomore that's wild, dude, wild.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So let's just okay.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Critics says, yeah, boy, that was the Leach offense and
they just throw the ball two minut filf.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Okay, half doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's a running back.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
I don't care cut him in half.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, it's still forty two, forty one, forty two catches
out of the backfield that are of a big time
quality variety. I'll tell you my my Mark's story. It
was twenty twenty three and I happened to be watching
a game one night in Mississippi State, and I want
to say Lsu may not have been Lsu, I can't remember.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
And what he's got banged up. I think it was ankle.
He's got banged up bankle.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
And you can tell that there's a hitch in his
gidio like he's not he's not full, like he's not
fully healthy.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The announcers and talked about it. You can see on
Writer Life.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I can't remember which one it was, like you can
tell like something's not right.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
He's banged up and drew abby.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Damn if he isn't running through tackles, he's carrying guys.
He's fighting for every single inch and he will not
come out of the game.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
He will not.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
They tried to send somebody in. He waved them off.
He's like, I'm not coming out of this game. And
I just remember what he Mark's badass, like okay, and
then obviously we know what happened with Coach Leitch passed
away Rip Coach the Great Pirate in the Sky.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
We lost him.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Then he ends up moving on to USC and he
has I think it was forty seven catches at USC,
and he kind of shared a little bit of time.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
His name escapes me.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
It was zero, his number was zero, and they had
a nice little one two combination. But still what he
went over eleven hundred yards rushing, had forty seven receiving,
and I was just like every time I would watch him,
I kept banging the table like I love this guy.
I love this guy. Is one of my favorites. Is
the type of guy that we need to have because
it's toughness. He swore me like man pass catching like
I was.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
So on Saturday, I'm sitting right here and Brooke was
doing our updates and shoes right here, and Sean was
over there and we had the TV on and I
literally see our logos on the screen and I'm like, hey,
I think we moved up, and Brooke goes, yeah, we
are selecting.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Woody Marks bananas.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
And I literally just stood up out of my seat
and I was like, what, Woody Marks. We just drafted
Woody Marks. I start banging the table because I was
like so excited. I did, like, man, it's just the
guy that I think when we talked about this offense
last year, we talked about it. A lot of people
probably got sick of hearing it, but I think it
was it's just this way.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
It's the way this team thinks. He is swarming as hell,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Big time, and just that toughness, the way that he
was kind of carrying a Mississippi State offense.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
That stayed with me. Man, and I'm so glad he's here.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
And look, he may not be a drop, but I
would bet the complete opposite. I would bet that that
dude is going to come in here and whatever role
you give him, what are you not going off for
a pass? You're pass protecting. It's at blitzing linebacker all day.
Got a coach, whatever you ask him to do, that
dude is going to end up being a factor and
impact this organization no matter what.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
All Right, moving on now to Jalen Reed, Penn State safety.
I interviewed him as well. I think that start to me.
He played sixteen games last year because went to the
semi Yeah, a lot of games. One of them was
against my alma mater, SMU and they handled the pony.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But whatever. That's when he was there, it was it
was cool.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
What stood out to me though, it's not a number
with him, it was he's got a he's got a
chip on his shoulder, and I think he thinks he
should have gotten drafted a lot higher. Yeah, and I
think he's got a lot to prove. In his mind,
he's saying I've got a lot to prove. That's the
vibe I got with him in the post in the
post draft interview.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You know, he was that tracks as they would say.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
He was like focused and he was happy that he
was drafted. He was going to celebrate, but it's like
I'm I'm here to prove something. You get that, You
get that vibe off him. Yeah, that's the way he plays. Yeah,
like he's fearless and that and his let's do it.
He said it forty eight times. Ye call, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I mean I think that was just his way of like, yeah,
I've got my spot, now I know where I'm going,
and I'm gonna go wreck shop.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
And look it just had a sweet grilling when I
when did in with him.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Well, I had him at one o four and Harris
one hundred, and I wasn't totally sure he fell. I
think the one thing that stood out that I could
kind of come up with was, you know, we don't
we really don't talk about strong safety, free safety much anymore.
You know, that's not kind of looked at like that
in the league, hasn't been for a while. But he's
(11:15):
got a little bit more strong safety qualities like closer
to the box, likes to hit, likes to be very physical,
you know.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
But he's got pretty good ball skills.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I mean he when he's deeper in coverage and he's
got to react to the ball, I think he does
a pretty good job.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
But he's fearless, I mean fearless.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And so if you're thinking about the one hundred ninety
seventh pick, I think it was I think guess what
it was.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Could be wrong, but six round pick.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
You got to be a guy that thinks about special teams,
and that might be the way that you make it.
That might be the that might be your entree into
getting more defensive time. And I think just when I
listened to his interview with you, and I know the
type of player he is, I could see him understanding that, like, look,
here's the secondary. He even drafted another secondary member in
(12:05):
front of you the day before, not different positions, but.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Here's also the history. This guy hurt, this guy hurt,
this guy hurt.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
You gotta be ready to go, but you have to
make your mark on special teams first.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Then you will get time on defense.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Huge.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You gotta do that, but you have to buy into
being that great teammate. I get the impression that he's
going to be that great teammate for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Yeah, you know another great teammate, a quarterback who elevates
those around him. Graham Mertz was the guy that the
Texans took after Reid played at Wisconsin a lot played
at Florida the last two years. In a kind of
interesting situation, he was easily the most polished of all
the interviewers interviewees, and thus these guys were really really polished.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
But another Kansas City kid over the Park kid.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, his dad played in in college and everything. But
the thing that stood up to me were these two numbers,
twenty and three, twenty touchdowns, three picks. It's really really close.
And that was in twenty twenty three for the Florida Gators. Yep,
that's really really close to what C. J. Stroud did
in twenty twenty three for the Texans. Yeah, but incredibly
(13:16):
accurate and north of seventy two percent both seasons each
of the last two seasons. Now, last year got ended
early because of injury, but accurate, accurate, accurate After not
being too accurate at Wisconsin, you really flipped a switch
with the Gators the accuracy there.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You know how I feel about adversity for quarterbacks through
I feel like the better quarterbacks I went through it
in the NFL are guys that have gone through it
at some point. You know, Josh Allen had to fight
for a junior college spot, you know, just to get
on a roster.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
In time out, time out, time out.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
My nine year old Oliver Doherty, the first thing he
asked me on Saturday after I got home.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Was like, why do we draft a quarterback?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Right right right?
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Well, case Keenum's not here, so you only have C. J.
Stroud and Davis Mills and Keaton Slovis. So he's Keen's
not as experienced as those two ahead of him, but
you need a third quarterback to compete with Ketan Slovas.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So yeah, and you know, the one thing, the thing
that immediately hit me because of course, when I sit quarterback,
all these kind of thoughts, like I literally kind of chuckled,
like we disdrafted quarterback, and then it hit me, like,
wait a second. When Nick was with the Patriots, they
drafted quarterbacks all the time, even though they had the
greatest of all time on their roster. Sure, they drafted
Jacoby Brissett in the third round, Jimmy Garoppolo in the second.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Tom Brady can't throw every pass every training camp, practice,
ota and mini camp.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, I mean the drafted Heavin O'Connell, who obviously is
not the Vikings coach. They drafted all kinds of quarterbacks
while Brady was there, and Brady remained the starter. But
when Brady got suspended, both Garoppolo and Brissett had to
step in. And so I'm not saying that and hopefully
that doesn't happen. I mean, I said on the broadcast too.
I hope Graham Merchant never plays down for the Texans
(14:51):
because it means that CJ. Stroud right has stayed healthy
and everything's been all good. And if something happened to CJ,
then Davis was healthy and we're all good there.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
But I talked about adversity.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You know, Merz was supposed to be all that in
bag of ships when he got to Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And I still follow Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
My parents live up there now, and you know, I
follow Wisconsin growing up, and that's why I was such
a big J. J. Watt fan before the Texas drafted him.
And so Merch to a lot of people at Wisconsin
was a disappointment, and it was during COVID time, it
was coaching changes.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
There's a lot of stuff going on at Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So when he goes to Florida has a really good
year in twenty three, everybody's like, well, okay, maybe there's
something there. Florida recruited the number one quarterback in the country.
You got named DJ Lagway, who's from Willis and DJ
sciens to go to Florida. Every single Florida Gator fan
wants Lagway to play.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
They want legwa to play.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
It doesn't matter what merch the year before, they wanted
leg what to play, and so Florida kind of came
up with this rotation and Lagway would come in, the
crowd would go crazy.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Things wouldn't go so well.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Graham would have to clean it up, and for the
first I don't know, five or six games, Graham cleaned
it up and had a pretty good twenty twenty four
going until he got hurt. Lagway had to kind of
keep it going the rest of the year, but they
finally got some momentum.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
In Biviole accounts, he was being a good teammates.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and that is massively important, massively important that
he handled that adversity.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
And again, who did that happen to in college one?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Thomas Edward Brady in nineteen ninety eight at Michigan No
One recruiting country.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Drew Henson ends up at.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Michigan and the Michigan coaches felt like that had to
play him or Henson would have transferred, So they would
play Brady. Hanson would come in, it wouldn't go great.
They go back to Brady. Brady would save the whole
situation and finally got to a point by the end
of the year where're like, look, we just got to
go Brady, and so they did, and he going to Brady.
He ended up being a stud. Actually that was the
second That was nineteen eighty nine. That was Brady's last year,
(17:00):
and Brady then had a great rest of the year.
Hanson came in the next year, had a great two
thousand and then ended up wanted to go baseball. Point
being Brady had to go through that situation and the
way he handled it actually meant something to the pro scouts,
And in the end, I think that mattered to our scouts,
mattered to our organization that Graham Mertz had been through
(17:21):
it and be stayed a great teammate and c J.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Stroud is going to be the quarterback for this organization for.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
A long long time. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, you know we
said about Sean Watson things went sideways. Hopefully things aren't
going sideways with a CJ.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Shroud.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But Graham Mertz is that guy you want around the
building that will compete with Keaton Slovas. Will show you
what he's got when he's healthy, and we don't know
exactly when he'll be ready to go but I've listened
and listened to all those interviews because obviously I was
on the air at that time when we played him
all once we had him, and I listened to Mertz
and everything that we've said. He said to you in
(17:54):
that interview that he under he understands the whole thing.
He understands the probably and to me is being a
good professional. He's not walk around going I'm beating CJ.
Stroud out I should be starting. No, it had nothing
to do with that, and.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Very self aware, very self aware.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
And I can appreciate that with a college quarterback become
an NFL quarterback, because.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
There were plenty of this draft that were not self.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Aware, you know, speaking of self aware.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
So I apologize if you've been watching, I've kind of
my eyes have been darting because my cousin Yim has
been texting me and he said, Jim, did you draft
a kid that went to John Carroll High School in
bel Air, Maryland. That's where I went, and that's where
my sister Michelle went. And so I said no, but
Keyante Hamilton went to Georgetown Prep George Crown. Yeah, And
(18:41):
he says, no, no, No. My buddy said, might be
a wide receiver that went to John Carroll and I
kind of put two and two together. I go, I
think you're thinking of our special teams coordinator Frank Ross. Yeah,
who played at John Carroll University in Cleveland, went into
their Hall of Fame last week, so promised John Carroll
and yim you're off just a little bit. It gets
us to kiak to Hamilton. You know what stands out
to me about Cante Hamilton. We got a wrestler. We
(19:03):
got I just a we were about to start this podcast,
I quote tweeted, there's this video of Contay Hamilton and
body slamming in the heavyweights division, which is not easy,
uh and not not like w W wrestling, but you
know Greco Roman high school wrestling. I love I love
when the Texans, when any team has an offensive or
(19:26):
defensive lineman who has been a wrestler, because their handwork
is usually impeccable, their footwork is usually impeccable, their understanding
of leverage and just the physics of moving people around, Yes,
it's typically impeccable. This might be a steal in the
seventh round, getting a defensive tackle who can who can
do some things as a wrestler as.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
A football player. So there we go. You you hit,
you hit on all of it.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And the Texas just recently signed Jake andrews Uh from Troy.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Does he have another wrestling.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Well, i'll tell you my quick stories.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
At the Seier Bowl and my buddy Lance Airline was
talking to him and I walked over, and he's got
this big old beard and it's just kind of interesting character.
And I watched him during practice and I knew. I
just knew just by watching him. I was like, and
so I walked over and I said, you wrestled, didn't you.
He looked at me like I had five heads. He goes, yeah,
how'd you know that? And Lance looked at me and
you see it? I was like, you can see it.
(20:18):
You can tell when guys had been wrestlers, how.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
They didn't have flowers? Did he?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
No, he didn't have cad flower ears, but you could tell.
And I'll find Jay can tell him that story and
remind him of that and see whether he'll remember that.
But but you know, with Hamilton, you can see it.
You know a lot of times when teams are trying
to zone him off, like just the way he turns
his body the way he cantorts, the way he can
kind of grab hold of one but you know, leverage
(20:45):
another guy's he's being double teamed to whatever the case
might be. You can see the wrestler.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
I did not.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I didn't know about the wrestling part as I watched him.
But as I'm watching him, I'm like, there's wrestler there.
You could you could see it. You can see it
in guys and long hold. He was really not only
was he really good high school, but he actually I
think Russell I believe for Rutgers early in his career,
but then he realized he's going to focus on football
at that point. So look at seventh round. There are
(21:12):
two seventh rounders with Hamilton Lache. Yeah were I mean, well.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Here we go, let's do Luke Lache. Let's let's round
things off. Iowa tight end, ooh, Iowa tight end. Usually
that gets people pumped up.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
I think at George Kittle and some of the others
that have come through the greats Laporta. This guy played
with Laporta, and when Laporta left, the idea was, Okay,
he's up, he's next, That's right. But for a variety
of reasons, that Iowa offense kind of sputtered, and this
guy did nice things and can block, but didn't have
the numbers that some of these other Iowa tight ends
have had. But it's just basically Iowa tight end offense
(21:49):
that didn't do what a lot of folks wanted it
to do. And there's still a lot of meat on
the bone with this guy. There's lots of promise I
think with Luke Lache.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, twenty twenty three, double checking my numbers here. Yeah,
he played only the first two and a half games.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Then he got hurt. He was he was thought by
a lot.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Of the draft knicks and all that coming out of
twenty twenty two when he had a pretty good year
he had twenty eight catches, almost four hundred yards, four touchdowns.
He were like, okay, I would tight end because the
same thing I would tight end. Luke Lache, son of
an NFL Pro Bowl off its tackle Jim Lache is
keevian eyes got Then he only plays a couple of
games in twenty twenty three, so I think that kind
(22:29):
of kept him off the radar screen.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
And then at twenty twenty four he had a good start,
then he got hurt.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Missed the game, and then after he missed the game,
so he missed I don't know, a game like seven
or eight. After that, he caught four passes for twenty
two yards in four games, and it's like, what are
we doing? Yeah, Like what happened? Start the year he
caught six or sixty three and all of a sudden,
we're getting to a point. Even against Ohio State he
had five for thirty nine, Like we're catching one for nine,
(22:56):
two for nine, one for four, Like what are we doing?
And so I just felt like when I heard his name,
I was like, wait, hold on, because you know how
a seventh round is drew. It's just you don't see
every pick you're trying to follow from. I literally saw him.
And this happened with Xavier Hutchinson two back in twenty three.
I was like, wait, we just drafted hutch in a
(23:18):
sixth round. He wasn't gone already. And I thought the
same thing with Lachet. I'd seen some of the tight
ends go and I thought he's still on the board.
Like when I did my my draft needs a Football
takerver dot com, I put up three the Texans ones
and I had lache as one of the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
I thought we would look at, you know, a guy
that can play in line.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
You know, he's not you're not quite the blocker that
Jackson Hawes is, but he still could play in line.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
He in the stands.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
He's a tight end that pretty much every I mean
they all do it, but he could be a fit
for every team because of what what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
That's right, that's right. And I think he can play
a couple of the tight end positions too.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So you get a guy like that in the seventh round,
start working with him and you're like, hey man, we
got a little something here.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So look, is he gonna be kiddle? And no, probably not.
Odds would say no.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
But if the guy's willing to work and he's got
the injury stuff behind him, and he comes in and
and look, that's that's what held TQ back. If TQ
had just stayed healthy, he was going to stack another
day on another day and be a pretty good tight end.
He just couldn't stay healthy at all. And so that's
the that's the biggest key I think with the tight
end room especially. I mean, if Luke Luche does anything
in twenty twenty five, just stay healthy because he's a
(24:26):
good enough football player with a good at pedigree of
DNA that if he just stacks good day after good
day after good day, then I think he finds a
way to do something with this tight end group. For sure.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
We've stacked good podcasts after good podcasts. Certainly have I
don't know if I know you and I agree that.
I don't know if anybody else, but I think that, yes, yes,
this has been a longer one, but we have to.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
It's nine picks.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
It's there's only one twenty twenty five NFL Draft class
for the text, and so we got to cover it
in full.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
And we did that. Okay, coming up, it's our favorit
the Boss. Frank Ross, Special teams Coordinator jumping in with
marking myself on Texans All Access. Next, let's go what's
happening everybody. Welcome back to this Friday edition of Texans
All Access. From Monday, Texans Radio Studio. Draft is over,
waiting for Rooky Mini Camp. I think it might be
(25:16):
next week and maybe then OTAs and Mini camp and
then oh my god, it's the desert, Holy Calvin. The
next football thing after that is training camp. It's unbelievable
how fast it is getting here, and that is a
good thing. Okay, Mark and I had a chance to
catch up with Frank Ross, and I don't say this lately.
He's one of my favorite people, not only in our building,
(25:39):
not only the NFL, but that I've ever met. He
has such an energy, he is driven, perhaps more than
any coach I've been around.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
I mean, this guy is just always on it.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
And his energy and his effort in his intelligence make
these special teams what they are. We had a wide
ranging interview with him that we wanted to play for
you again because you missed it the first time. Man,
you really missed out. Here's Frank Cross with Mark and myself,
starting with the discussion about the John Carroll University Hall
of Fame.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross with us in studio. Coach,
Great to see him, Good see you guys. All right,
off season visit. We have a lot to get to. Okay,
hall of Fame, we got to get to that, all right.
In fact, let's get to it first. John Carroll Sports
Hall of Fame. Congratulations, the surprise video we made all
of that.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
What was your reaction to getting in? Thanks?
Speaker 6 (26:30):
Oh, I'm super honored and excited. That was a very
cool moment. Surprise for sure. You know, I've I've closed
my yearbook, so and proudly I'm about the twenty.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Twenty five Texans.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Here comes coach Frank about the twenty twenty five Texans.
But when it gets open and pride open again, incredible
honor and really because like that's not a goal of mine, right,
that wasn't ever a goal of mine. It's always cool.
I want to win games. You know, we weren't the
greatest team in generation of John Carroll sports football when
(27:05):
I was there, but had a lot of fun playing
hard and it was cool to I guess to say,
to be recognized in retrospect by peers or whoever else
up there. And man, I love my school and proud
so it was great honor.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Will there be a ceremony?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Will you get to be able to be with you know,
some of your former teammates on what's kind of that aspect?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Coach?
Speaker 6 (27:26):
Yeah, well half of our building, ye, John Carroll, you know,
apparently celebrate Houston. They're all over the NFL, right, all
of us, No, you know, I hope, but you know,
maybe the football gods will will grace us with a
bye week schedule. I think the ceremony, the actual induction
ceremony will be in the fall sometimes, so we'll see.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I've got a cool story if I may.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Yeah, of course, How did I get my start in
the NFL? Nick Casserio was getting inducted into the Hall
of Fame at John Carroll when I was a junior
and it was evening time, you know, a weekend, and uh,
I play on a suit and tie and waited and
I walked up and I said, Nick, I'm Frank, I
want to work in the NFL one day. Followed back
on a few years later, you know, through that that
(28:08):
communication and connection, and then that's how it all started.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it was cool.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
He must have been on a bye week in New
England at the time. I don't necessarily know. If I
get a chance to be up there, it would be
really great if not. When we had this little surprise
get together here with Nick, coach Dimiko, all the rest
of the JCU guys that here they are here, that
was a cool moment JAK room for everybody. Yeah, I
mean he took up the team auditorium, you know.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, so wait, what happened right after graduation. Was it
right then that you went, how did that work for you?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah? That was a when I first met. That was
my junior year played ball.
Speaker 6 (28:44):
I did a fifth year from a medical red shirt
and played started and tried to play in the NFL,
and they said they looked at the stop watch, and
they said next and then we went to uh uh
spring practice, and I don't have connection.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I don't have all the you know.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
So we went to spring practice and I started coaching
the receivers and got a call eventually to do the
interview in the internship and got stuck on from there.
So it was really I was in a semester of
graduate school and then kind of took it over from
there afterward.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
So it was, uh, midway through my second semester.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
I guess springtime for for that first opportunity and went
right there.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I never looked back.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So we may have asked you this before, but it's
a good time to ask it. Had you not, were
you gonna be a coach? No matter what, regardless of
what happened coach or getting scouting or whatever, was that
the plan, no matter what, like draft day, Vonte mac
No matter what was that what you're gonna do?
Speaker 6 (29:44):
Yeah, man I I it was always first play, Yeah
can I can I wind it even further back, always
to be the second basement for the Cleveland Indians.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then that moved on.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
They said, you can't even make the throat at first
or second base, you know, you know, uh no once
they once it started being man, I was the extension
of coach on the field as a high school player,
and then I moved forward and I was just always
something that I took to and I still have my
goals set for the rest of my career and it's yeah,
(30:15):
I'm doing what I set out to do and love
the game that I get to compete in.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
So I always wanted to be a coach from the jump.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
So along those lines, bringing up playing a second base
for Cleveland is now the Cleveland Guardians.
Speaker 6 (30:30):
Cleveland Guardians. Yeah, I'm being proper, that's right. How when
you when we get.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Into draft stuff, for you just looking at players, how
important is it that guys that you're looking at prospects
you're studying have played multiple sports.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
In your eyes, man, I'm I am not the select
sport raised advocate. I want figure it out like that's
why football is unique. Yeah, he started playing football as
a senior in high school. And you know, you look
at the famous story of the service Alomachenko. He's he's
(31:03):
a dancer. His dad wouldn't let him fight until he
learned how to dance so he can get good feet. Yeah,
you know, so, you just I love that about sport.
To me, football, I want to see an aero athlete
that can play basketball and hang in the air and
contort right to reach back and get a rebound. I
want to see you has space and awareness timing, and
I want to see a wrestler who has body position
(31:23):
and like, to me, that is so important.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I am a big advocate for it.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
If I'm going to be a major league pitcher, I
probably need to be throwing the baseball from the age
of twelve and going to see a specialist. But like
you know, for this process, in this sport, the more
you can do the better.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
In my opinion, I'm one of those. Of course, sure, yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
You were a scout, so does that ever leave you
your special teams coordinator now? But does the scouting part
of you never die?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I never? I love that.
Speaker 6 (31:53):
I think it not only does it never leave me.
I think it has served me and serves me daily
and has served me well, you got to be a
teacher to be a football coach. You're a teacher, you're
a communicator, an educator. But your number one job when
you're totally out of control, and when that is is
(32:13):
I have zero control on Sundays at noon. My job
is done right like within reasons, but they're out on
the grass doing it. It is my number one job
to put them in the right spot based on their
skill sets and abilities, so that is fitting the puzzle
pieces together. I think that is where like, Okay, what
can this player from Ohio State, from Texas, whatever school
(32:36):
you're looking at? What can he do or can't he do?
How do you see it fitting you? How do you
see something he can do? Oh, let's use that skill set.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Well.
Speaker 6 (32:46):
I think it serves me to this day and will
continue to serve me that. I like, I'm not the
greatest scout as far as building a draft board, and
I can't do that. I'll never claim to do that.
It's not as intriguing to me to then say, all right,
here are the that you're given.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
What do they do?
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Well, let's put them in spots to use their skills.
That to me is an extension of scouting.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Frank, It's been a pretty.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
It's been an incredible offseason in a sense for you
at the Hall of Fame and a lot of things
you have going on.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
He's the sports words, things like that. But I also
know how you are.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I know you care for your players a ton John
Weeks now moves on to San Francisco forty nine ers.
Tucker comes in Andton comes in to be the long
snapper here.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I just I wouldn't mind.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I would think a lot of people would love to
hear your thoughts about Weeks and what he meant to you,
but also what we now have coming.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
In behind him.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Yeah, it's not it's not like, uh, it's the old saying.
You don't replace a You don't replace it John Weeks.
You just you figure out what you can do next
type of situation. That's how much he's meant to this team,
to the organization from his the man that he stood
as and in front of our building for years, setting
the standards, showing up the pros, pro the consistency, the
(33:57):
skills set on the field.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Here's where I take it.
Speaker 6 (34:01):
The person off the field, Like I'm younger than John,
So I come in here as a young coordinator in
twenty twenty one, and I've got a guy who's who's
you know, willing to work with me Like that meant
a lot to me, allowing me to cut my teeth,
if you will, when he's already had done it at
the highest levels of the profession. So he means the
(34:24):
world to me. He'll always mean the world to me,
and I am forever a better coach and leader in
my opinion from working with John, especially on my first
go around. You know, moving forward, it's just you know,
it's football.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Every year is a new year.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
You're gonna it does not matter. The game is going
to show up here in September. We're gonna be ready
to go. And it doesn't matter what it constraints they
put on you. You're gonna make it work.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
So we're gonna do just that. I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (34:52):
I'm excited for that opportunity and the challenge, and and
hopefully the guys are as well, Like, Okay, you don't
have this player or that player, but you do have
this new ad addition, you know, uh, you know, Nick
Neeman and Traymon Smith and Justin and like, okay, how
are they gonna like right, that's where I get excited.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
And that's the daily challenge.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
So you can't look past today, can't look past the
workout today, the meeting today, whatever it may be.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
And we'll just do We'll do it one little step
at a time.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Why is long snapping so difficult? Frank when you look
at the ability to do it, I mean, ideally, if
somebody else, a position player, could just do it really well,
maybe that would be the best thing, be the best thing.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Spot.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
But you need a spot because it's so specific. What
makes it so tough?
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Critical?
Speaker 6 (35:36):
We better have an audience on here today. That's that
is nitty gritty football. Let's talk about let's do it.
This is where this is where the fans come, right,
you know. So no, it is so finite, it is
so repeatable, and there's no room for air.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
There is none.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
So the first thing is is you better be snapping
it on point every time both phases snap for a
long and short for field goal snaps, you better be
on point.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
They're no room for air.
Speaker 6 (36:03):
You know, when guys start rolling them back like they
don't play in the NFL. So that's just you know,
there's a lot of college kids that can snap. Okay,
Then the second part comes in, are you strong, quick,
big enough to get you but back off the line
of scrimmage, eyes up to then play football relative to
the rush that we're gonna We're gonna pick up and
(36:25):
then strike an anchor you ever blocked. Then you go
out your in the a gape after snapping with your
head down. It's a hard thing to do. Good luck,
good luck. Better have a guy that can do it.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
That's the deal.
Speaker 6 (36:36):
So you know, it's just it's it is a very
hard thing to do on repeat, and when do you
get recognized when it goes bad?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
That's it. That's it.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
So you know, it's just it's a thankless job and
that person is special to your organization.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
And I'm excited to, you know, make it work for
this year and front.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Of somebody Texans Radio, we mentioned the long snappers' name
on every snap app okay every snap weeks.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Would get I appreciate that. So now I'm gonna not
saying his name about John.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean, yeah, it's gonna be like saying La instead
of San Diego.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Yeah, that's right. That's gonna happen.
Speaker 6 (37:12):
There's allow there. We give you a grace period for
Freddy and slips. But then at some point, you know, yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Coach Mark, what to the annual meetings a few weeks ago?
And I always think about you in those situations because
there are gonna be some rule changes, and it feels
like most of the rule changes are coming out of
the kicking game in some way, shape or form. So
the most recent one is the move of the touchback
from the thirty to the thirty five.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
It's five yards. What does it matter?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
I got a feeling it matters a lot. What are
your thoughts on how the kickoff continues to evolve?
Speaker 6 (37:44):
Yeah, So if I if to take it back to
last offseason when the reason for the whole kick return
and this drastic overhaul of the kickoff kick return play
a safety at the forefront of that to get the
speed in the space and the collisions. And you know,
to the average fan listening, it's it is a violent
(38:05):
play and had been a violent play for a long time.
So I totally understand and respect that player safety first,
and that's why there was a driver forced to get
that done. Also, the play kind of started being touchback,
touch back, touch back. The initial proposal with this new
hybrid kickoff was the thirty five. I thought it was
a little too punitive and year call it trial sample
(38:25):
size year one, So it got tabled, moved it to
the thirty What did.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Teams do kick touchbacks? Not us? But you know, do
you know how many returns Damien Pierce had? How many?
Speaker 6 (38:39):
Do you think I'm gonna say twelve? Yeah, it was
like eight or nine. Yeah, I mean we didn't get
the ball, we didn't get a chance to return the ball.
So if you're going against a good kick returner, I
think Damien is. But if we're playing against a premier returner,
coaches said, you know, just kick it out. Well, now,
if you put that thing to the thirty five, it's
a You're at a forty percent scoring opportunity rate, two
first downs, you got a shot at a field goal.
(39:01):
Not saying it's a make or miss, but like think
about that. Yeah, scoring probably going up a little bit more.
I personally believe you're gonna get more kickoffs. So it's
at thirty three percent a year ago, thirties, I think
that thing is gonna jump closer to the seventies. You're
gonna get touch back still, but not at the clip
that it was. And then you gotta find ways to
(39:22):
do it more often in game, both in coverage and return.
You gotta do it successfully in both, and that is
gonna be a large swing and field position. So then
last detail on it. I know I'm getting wordy. What's
the average starting line of scrimmage after a kickoff? Is
like all thirty two teams are like the first place,
(39:42):
The first ranked team is the thirty and one inch line.
The last ranked team is the twenty nine and one
inch lit like, it's not a big deviation.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I think now you'll have that I think deviation.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
I think I think if you concede the thirty five
yard line and you kick touchbacks, like you're gonna give
up the thirty five for free because the data said,
the play said, put the thing in play and go
tackle the ball inside of the thirty We're gonna try
to do that, you know, within however it plays out
weekly game, et cetera. But you know, it's just I
(40:15):
think you're gonna see a little bit of a separation.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Oil and water there.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Wow, Well, we've come a long way, because the instances
last year where occasionally you'd see a team start at
the twenty. It just looks so it looked like you
were at the goal line or something. And that's how
we used to play football all the time, the time,
always at the twenty.
Speaker 6 (40:33):
Take it to the punting game where the punt's gonna
happen midfield punts. Then you're gonna have more punts to
get dropped inside of the ten. Now they're more backed up,
so backed up offense might uptick. Oh, all the things
right fringe area of the field goal range? Are you
going for it on fourth downs? Are you kicking long
fifty yard field goal at ten? All these things that
you got to start to evaluate. See how it plays out.
(40:56):
We'll see I'm getting ahead of myself. You guys asked
I get going.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
You got.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
But it's the kicking game that gets most of these
you know rule changes. Yeah, there's there was a there
was a proposal for you know, defensive pat not defense
passing if he's holding and leave contact. May be sure,
but it feels like everything is impacting the kicking game.
So I'll ask this, combining the two things we talked about,
scouting and these new rules, when you stare and think, hey,
(41:21):
there may be more returns. We need more guys that
can go down and cover and make tackles. We might
need Damian, we might need more guys that can catch
a kickoff and do something with it. Does that impact
some of the way that you go up with the
scouting and looking at it.
Speaker 6 (41:34):
Yeah, absolutely, And I don't necessarily know if it looks
you know, players, you look at them differently. I just
think it's about more team construction. You're not going to
be healthy across the board for seventeen weeks. You're gonna
have to put the ball in play. There's gonna injuries
may with the more plays that happened. But now you know,
you take it to the element of football. It's like
(41:55):
on the grass field position, you know, so how's the
game being played? You know, you want to control and
dominate field position, and then offensively you want to shorten
the field. So can we return the ball? Do you
have a return game that's adequate or do you have
a return game that's not dominant? So all those things
are going to really start to impact more. And it's
(42:15):
about the field position, and it's about how you're controlling
the game and you know, you might have a way
better team than us. But if we got a short
field all Sunday afternoon and you got a long field,
and it's like that for the defense in our offense,
it's short or long, like you would give that team
the advantage. The NFL is too competitive, too competitive for
that to happen.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
So all right, I got one more for you. Sure,
soon enough, you'll have rookies in for rookie camp. Can
we got to thank your speech to them, your tutelage,
whatever takes place during that three day period, however long
it is, is so important because hey, this is your
real ticket to the NFL, baby, And you might not
have done this stuff in college, but you need to
do it here.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
You need to know. And there's an entry level job.
Come to the fourth down. Come to fourth down. Yeah,
you guys know.
Speaker 6 (43:00):
And I always kind of dangle the caro like player
participation money, like you want how many more players are
on kickoff? People were clamoring to get on field goal
block team. Those are Oh yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
It's a lot of reps for the seasons, you know,
but no, it's uh.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Thought about it. How do you how do you learn
speed of the NFL.
Speaker 6 (43:21):
How do you learn physicality playing against different types of
players us as coaches?
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Yeah, that guy has spatial instincts. You gotta go play
in a kicking game.
Speaker 6 (43:30):
Like, For as long as I'll be in this profession,
I'm blessed to be a spect teams coach. But like
this is, I am a true believer. I believe that
that not only is a good healthy way to cut
your teeth, I think he's an unbelievable developmental skill set
for the rest of your roster. The best way is
(43:51):
a bunch of veterans that are playing really good. You
got a rookie linebacker at that position. As you move out,
you move up. If you could do that on repeat,
I think thirty two teams would sign up for that system.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Along those lines, and this would be last one from me.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
How important is it for your veterans, guys that have
got a little seasoning to be part of those crews
to be able to say, yay, I'll go block a few,
well like did he go outrhy does last year? Hey,
I'll get on punting. How important is it for them
to sort of emulate that to be hey, we'll go
do that. If you need us to and for the
young guys looking go, hey, man, I'm not too big
for my bridges.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
If Deniko's on it, then man, I need to be
on it.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
Yeah, but that's a that's a culture thing You're you're
speaking to right there. I mean, the longer you're in it,
the better you become at it.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Right.
Speaker 6 (44:34):
So, if if dariogum Wale is one of the better
running backs, if not the like, I think the world
of dar a kicking game staple here for how many
seasons now, right, Like, he's not trying to get off
the punt team?
Speaker 2 (44:47):
How many kickoff tackles? Is he not knifeing tackles? Has
he made? You know, I don't know many people.
Speaker 6 (44:53):
You know, I can't speak for everybody, but I don't
know many people that would say that it would wag
wag their nose at that. I think he's done an
outstanding job and to me, like a guy that takes
pride whatever. Jake Hansen, Now at this point, you know
m J. Stewart, Treymond, he's you know, has had a
wildly sex wildly successful career doing fourth down, and I
(45:17):
don't it might not be the superstar living that every
college freshman is staring at right now. But when you
get here, like yeah, it's a pretty darn good way
to go as well. And I think you know for
your team, more veteran replacement you have on the kicking
game rolls, the.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
Better you have a chance to be for sure out
standing coach. Congrats once again on the John Carroll Hall
of Fame. Thanks you, best of luck with the rest
of the off season.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
Thanks guys. Good to see you guys. All right, we
get back.
Speaker 3 (45:42):
We're gonna go round the NFL quickly and then wish
the Rockets some luck.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
We'll do that when we get back right here in
Texas All Access.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
What's happen everybody, Welcome back to this Friday and ish
that Texas All Access our final segment a little quickly
before we turn it over to Area forty five. I'm
John here Football Anaal sideline reported for your Houston Texans
and a huge Rockets fan.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Fingers crossed. Big one to night man.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Is this the the biggest basketball game in Houston and
for Houston professional basketball obviously since well I don't know
what before before COVID for sure, right, it's gotta be
just a big one. And going out there to San Francisco,
knocking off Steph Curry in Game six to bring it
(46:29):
back home in Game seven. Good luck boys, Uh go
get it done, all right, It's hit. A couple of
NFL pieces of news. Jordan Travis Start Florida State, was
drafted by the Jets last year in the fifth round,
hoping he'd come back from a gruesome leg injury, and
he just said, not gonna happen. He has medically, basically
medically retired there with the Jets, which I hate for
(46:50):
him because I think he would have been a guy
like Brock Purty late on Day three. I don't even
think he would have gotten the day three. He'd have
been healthy coming out of Florida State. But he has
called it quits with the Jets.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
The Bills big move.
Speaker 3 (47:04):
I thought Elijah Moore only twenty five years old. When
we were talking about wide receivers way way back in
February and March, I mentioned a few guys that I
thought would make sense for the Texans.
Speaker 2 (47:17):
Rondelle Moore, Elijah Moore, Christian Kirk.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Now, Christian had the contract, but I thought it would
be renegotiate all that kind of stuff. But Elijah Moore,
Rondale Moore. I think I felt like they had a
lot more in their play with the Buffalo Bills. Two
days after Brandon being called into WGR in the morning
because he was listening to their guys kind of bagging
the Bills about the receivers, Elijah Moore becomes a Bill
wide receiver. I think it could be end up being
(47:40):
a very, very good move. The Ravens declined the option
on Tyler Linderbaum. I first saw it and I thought
I'd lost my mind. But then when you think about it,
I think they're trying to find that long term extension
for him and get that done. So his number is
in the ballpark for a center and not for an
offensive lineman.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Good luck to Rockets tonight, See you guys on Monday,
and as always, go to Texas
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:01):
Welcome to a Friday editsue at Texans All Access from
Monday Texans Radio Studio. I am your host, John Harris,
football analyst, sideline reporter. We got plenty for you tonight.
If you missed our interview with Frank Ross, we got
that for you. You definitely got to hear it. And sometimes
I like to listen to an interview after things have
happened and you go back and you're like, yeah, man,
(00:23):
that interview subject, whoever it was, we caught all. We
caught on that and hit on that, and I think
we did that with our discussion with Frank Ross. And
we had the Monday leading into the draft, so there's
some good stuff there. But we're gonna kick off today's
show with myself and Drew Doherty in the Lab. And
Drew had an idea for the lab. He basically took one,
(00:43):
like one thing out of every interview, out of every
draft prospect that we had, and we had a few
of those the other night, but we decided that we
wanted to finish because Drew had a chance to sit
down with all of these prospects after they were drafted,
and that I gave him a little bit more insight
than anybody else, honestly, and he loved these interviews.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And one of his favorites was the one we start
with right.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Here, Jalen Smith, defensive back from USC. Now, I don't
want to speak for you, but I'm gonna speak for
you because I know you echo this and feel the
same way. Special teams coordinator Frank Ross is one of
our favorite all time coaches in this building.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Right. We love this dude.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
He's awesome.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
I heard after the fact that Ross was ecstatic, ecstatic
with the Jalen Smith pick.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I'm pumped if if that's the case, I'm cool with that.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, late third round, if you get a guy. I
think it was Saturday. Sean Pendergast was here and to
get to studio, you know, he's got to walk the
bowels and he ended up seeing Frank and he said
Frank was bouncing off the walls. You know, you get
noel who can give you reachar Kaylen Smith was a gunner.
(02:04):
It's interesting because I remember Jalen at the Senior Bowl
and as I went back and I tried to find
some of the Senior Bowl clips just to kind of
get an idea again. I remind myself. I was like, man,
I can't find him on day two or three, but
I do remember him being there on day one.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And being successful.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
But you know, I'm kind of big on numbers, and
he wore twenty one at the Senior Bowl. So when
I went back and I watched him at USC, he
was wearing number two. But then a highlight flashed up.
At some point, I'm like, wait, like, who whoa, whoa,
why is that not?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh, I remember nineteen.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
He wore nineteen the year before when he was there
with Kayla Bulleck, and so that's how I was like, oh,
I remember him.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
And then I thought the full low cap two and
he when he left, Jalen took No.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
No.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Two was totally different. Kayalen were seven.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
He had originally wore twenty seven, like as a young buck,
and then he moved to seven. So Jalen won nine
and then he ended up moving to two and and
it threw me off. But then I remembered the nineteen
because I remembered him from the year before, and so
I'm like, but man, he it's not a slot kind
of played the nickel. But then I thought about one
play in particular, Monday Night against the Dallas Cowboys, and look,
(03:18):
Kamante Turpin's gonna beat everybody. I mean, he's one of
the quickest, fastest guys I've ever seen live.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
He's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
But Jeff Acuda got beat so bad, like he wasn't
even the ballpark. Jalen's gonna be able to be that
third guy, whether it covers inside, whether it covers outside.
And maybe it's not even him, but maybe it's Ronald Darby. However,
but the Texas needed a good third cover guy that
if they want to go dime with a coverage aspect
(03:47):
to it, then Jalen Smith can be a third cover guy.
But look, if what you get from Jalen Smith is
he comes in, he covers some people on third down,
and then on fourth down he goes and dominates on
special teams, Hell, yeah, let's go. It's ninety said picking
a draft. You know there's some teams that pick a
kicker there.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And I didn't want to make this seem like, well,
the Texans spent a third round pick on a guy
who's only gonna be a special team round. I'm just
saying these are the little things that like stood out to
me as far as yeahah, I think they.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Have plans for him.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Yes, defensively, absolutely, yeah, absolutely, but clarify there.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
But as Frank told us in the interview, he had
a hard time sleeping after that game against the Chiefs.
He felt like the special teams let a lot of
people down. So to see somebody like Jalen Smith come in,
Jalen Nole come in with some return game.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
That was really super important to Frank.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
To have guys of a high caliber athleticism, and you
get the feeling that Jalen Smith appreciates being on special
teams for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Okay Wood, he marks. J Equavius Marks, running back from
USC four years before that, running back for Mississippi State,
his head coaching college.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
And he brought this up with me. I got a
fly in this.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, my kitchen's messing me up.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
He brought this up with me on the post draft interview. Ah,
my head coach is Lincoln Riley. I watched lots of
tape of Joe Mixon Lincoln Riley because Lincoln was Joe
Mixon's offensive coordinator about a decade ago, give her take
a few at Oklahoma. Well before that, about twenty years ago.
(05:29):
I knew Lincoln Riley and he was a GA, a
low level assistant coach for Texas Tech when I was
out in Lubbock.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And Lincoln, Yeah, I'm a fan of Lincolns. I like him.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
So Lincoln is familiar with a guy named Tarian Henderson
and I know you are too, John, But Tarian played
running back for the Red Raiders, the Aughts, the mid Oughts.
I know his senior year there, which I think was
my first year there, five he set the record for
most catches by running back all time n CUAA history.
(06:02):
Caught lots of catch He was a really productive running back.
Ye for that aread offense very very so what looks
what stands out to me with woody marks. He didn't
do this under Lincoln Riley, but as a sophomore at
Mississippi State, he caught eighty three passes as a sophomore
as a running back. That's in a college season, not
(06:23):
in a seventeen game NFL season. Eighty three passes, John,
that's bananas. I mean that that was the the red
blinking light of all red blinking lights in this entire
draft class. Eighty three catches for a running back as
a sophomore that's wild, dude, wild.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So let's just okay.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Critics says, yeah, boy, that was the Leach offense and
they just throw the ball two minut filf.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Okay, half doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's a running back.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
I don't care cut him in half.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, it's still forty two, forty one, forty two catches
out of the backfield that are of a big time
quality variety. I'll tell you my my Mark's story. It
was twenty twenty three and I happened to be watching
a game one night in Mississippi State, and I want
to say Lsu may not have been Lsu, I can't remember.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
And what he's got banged up. I think it was ankle.
He's got banged up bankle.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
And you can tell that there's a hitch in his
gidio like he's not he's not full, like he's not
fully healthy.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The announcers and talked about it. You can see on
Writer Life.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I can't remember which one it was, like you can
tell like something's not right.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
He's banged up and drew abby.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Damn if he isn't running through tackles, he's carrying guys.
He's fighting for every single inch and he will not
come out of the game.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
He will not.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
They tried to send somebody in. He waved them off.
He's like, I'm not coming out of this game. And
I just remember what he Mark's badass, like okay, and
then obviously we know what happened with Coach Leitch passed
away Rip Coach the Great Pirate in the Sky.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
We lost him.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Then he ends up moving on to USC and he
has I think it was forty seven catches at USC,
and he kind of shared a little bit of time.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
His name escapes me.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
It was zero, his number was zero, and they had
a nice little one two combination. But still what he
went over eleven hundred yards rushing, had forty seven receiving,
and I was just like every time I would watch him,
I kept banging the table like I love this guy.
I love this guy. Is one of my favorites. Is
the type of guy that we need to have because
it's toughness. He swore me like man pass catching like
I was.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
So on Saturday, I'm sitting right here and Brooke was
doing our updates and shoes right here, and Sean was
over there and we had the TV on and I
literally see our logos on the screen and I'm like, hey,
I think we moved up, and Brooke goes, yeah, we
are selecting.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Woody Marks bananas.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
And I literally just stood up out of my seat
and I was like, what, Woody Marks. We just drafted
Woody Marks. I start banging the table because I was
like so excited. I did, like, man, it's just the
guy that I think when we talked about this offense
last year, we talked about it. A lot of people
probably got sick of hearing it, but I think it
was it's just this way.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
It's the way this team thinks. He is swarming as hell,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Big time, and just that toughness, the way that he
was kind of carrying a Mississippi State offense.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
That stayed with me. Man, and I'm so glad he's here.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
And look, he may not be a drop, but I
would bet the complete opposite. I would bet that that
dude is going to come in here and whatever role
you give him, what are you not going off for
a pass? You're pass protecting. It's at blitzing linebacker all day.
Got a coach, whatever you ask him to do, that
dude is going to end up being a factor and
impact this organization no matter what.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
All Right, moving on now to Jalen Reed, Penn State safety.
I interviewed him as well. I think that start to me.
He played sixteen games last year because went to the
semi Yeah, a lot of games. One of them was
against my alma mater, SMU and they handled the pony.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But whatever. That's when he was there, it was it
was cool.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
What stood out to me though, it's not a number
with him, it was he's got a he's got a
chip on his shoulder, and I think he thinks he
should have gotten drafted a lot higher. Yeah, and I
think he's got a lot to prove. In his mind,
he's saying I've got a lot to prove. That's the
vibe I got with him in the post in the
post draft interview.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
You know, he was that tracks as they would say.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
He was like focused and he was happy that he
was drafted. He was going to celebrate, but it's like
I'm I'm here to prove something. You get that, You
get that vibe off him. Yeah, that's the way he plays. Yeah,
like he's fearless and that and his let's do it.
He said it forty eight times. Ye call, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I mean I think that was just his way of like, yeah,
I've got my spot, now I know where I'm going,
and I'm gonna go wreck shop.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
And look it just had a sweet grilling when I
when did in with him.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Well, I had him at one o four and Harris
one hundred, and I wasn't totally sure he fell. I
think the one thing that stood out that I could
kind of come up with was, you know, we don't
we really don't talk about strong safety, free safety much anymore.
You know, that's not kind of looked at like that
in the league, hasn't been for a while. But he's
(11:15):
got a little bit more strong safety qualities like closer
to the box, likes to hit, likes to be very physical,
you know.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
But he's got pretty good ball skills.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I mean he when he's deeper in coverage and he's
got to react to the ball, I think he does
a pretty good job.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
But he's fearless, I mean fearless.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And so if you're thinking about the one hundred ninety
seventh pick, I think it was I think guess what
it was.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Could be wrong, but six round pick.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
You got to be a guy that thinks about special teams,
and that might be the way that you make it.
That might be the that might be your entree into
getting more defensive time. And I think just when I
listened to his interview with you, and I know the
type of player he is, I could see him understanding that, like, look,
here's the secondary. He even drafted another secondary member in
(12:05):
front of you the day before, not different positions, but.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Here's also the history. This guy hurt, this guy hurt,
this guy hurt.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
You gotta be ready to go, but you have to
make your mark on special teams first.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Then you will get time on defense.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Huge.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You gotta do that, but you have to buy into
being that great teammate. I get the impression that he's
going to be that great teammate for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Yeah, you know another great teammate, a quarterback who elevates
those around him. Graham Mertz was the guy that the
Texans took after Reid played at Wisconsin a lot played
at Florida the last two years. In a kind of
interesting situation, he was easily the most polished of all
the interviewers interviewees, and thus these guys were really really polished.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
But another Kansas City kid over the Park kid.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, his dad played in in college and everything. But
the thing that stood up to me were these two numbers,
twenty and three, twenty touchdowns, three picks. It's really really close.
And that was in twenty twenty three for the Florida Gators. Yep,
that's really really close to what C. J. Stroud did
in twenty twenty three for the Texans. Yeah, but incredibly
(13:16):
accurate and north of seventy two percent both seasons each
of the last two seasons. Now, last year got ended
early because of injury, but accurate, accurate, accurate After not
being too accurate at Wisconsin, you really flipped a switch
with the Gators the accuracy there.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You know how I feel about adversity for quarterbacks through
I feel like the better quarterbacks I went through it
in the NFL are guys that have gone through it
at some point. You know, Josh Allen had to fight
for a junior college spot, you know, just to get
on a roster.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
In time out, time out, time out.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
My nine year old Oliver Doherty, the first thing he
asked me on Saturday after I got home.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Was like, why do we draft a quarterback?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Right right right?
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Well, case Keenum's not here, so you only have C. J.
Stroud and Davis Mills and Keaton Slovis. So he's Keen's
not as experienced as those two ahead of him, but
you need a third quarterback to compete with Ketan Slovas.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So yeah, and you know, the one thing, the thing
that immediately hit me because of course, when I sit quarterback,
all these kind of thoughts, like I literally kind of chuckled,
like we disdrafted quarterback, and then it hit me, like,
wait a second. When Nick was with the Patriots, they
drafted quarterbacks all the time, even though they had the
greatest of all time on their roster. Sure, they drafted
Jacoby Brissett in the third round, Jimmy Garoppolo in the second.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Tom Brady can't throw every pass every training camp, practice,
ota and mini camp.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, I mean the drafted Heavin O'Connell, who obviously is
not the Vikings coach. They drafted all kinds of quarterbacks
while Brady was there, and Brady remained the starter. But
when Brady got suspended, both Garoppolo and Brissett had to
step in. And so I'm not saying that and hopefully
that doesn't happen. I mean, I said on the broadcast too.
I hope Graham Merchant never plays down for the Texans
(14:51):
because it means that CJ. Stroud right has stayed healthy
and everything's been all good. And if something happened to CJ,
then Davis was healthy and we're all good there.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
But I talked about adversity.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You know, Merz was supposed to be all that in
bag of ships when he got to Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And I still follow Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
My parents live up there now, and you know, I
follow Wisconsin growing up, and that's why I was such
a big J. J. Watt fan before the Texas drafted him.
And so Merch to a lot of people at Wisconsin
was a disappointment, and it was during COVID time, it
was coaching changes.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
There's a lot of stuff going on at Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So when he goes to Florida has a really good
year in twenty three, everybody's like, well, okay, maybe there's
something there. Florida recruited the number one quarterback in the country.
You got named DJ Lagway, who's from Willis and DJ
sciens to go to Florida. Every single Florida Gator fan
wants Lagway to play.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
They want legwa to play.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
It doesn't matter what merch the year before, they wanted
leg what to play, and so Florida kind of came
up with this rotation and Lagway would come in, the
crowd would go crazy.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Things wouldn't go so well.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Graham would have to clean it up, and for the
first I don't know, five or six games, Graham cleaned
it up and had a pretty good twenty twenty four
going until he got hurt. Lagway had to kind of
keep it going the rest of the year, but they
finally got some momentum.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
In Biviole accounts, he was being a good teammates.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and that is massively important, massively important that
he handled that adversity.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
And again, who did that happen to in college one?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Thomas Edward Brady in nineteen ninety eight at Michigan No
One recruiting country.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Drew Henson ends up at.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Michigan and the Michigan coaches felt like that had to
play him or Henson would have transferred, So they would
play Brady. Hanson would come in, it wouldn't go great.
They go back to Brady. Brady would save the whole
situation and finally got to a point by the end
of the year where're like, look, we just got to
go Brady, and so they did, and he going to Brady.
He ended up being a stud. Actually that was the
second That was nineteen eighty nine. That was Brady's last year,
(17:00):
and Brady then had a great rest of the year.
Hanson came in the next year, had a great two
thousand and then ended up wanted to go baseball. Point
being Brady had to go through that situation and the
way he handled it actually meant something to the pro scouts,
And in the end, I think that mattered to our scouts,
mattered to our organization that Graham Mertz had been through
(17:21):
it and be stayed a great teammate and c J.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Stroud is going to be the quarterback for this organization for.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
A long long time. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, you know we
said about Sean Watson things went sideways. Hopefully things aren't
going sideways with a CJ.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Shroud.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But Graham Mertz is that guy you want around the
building that will compete with Keaton Slovas. Will show you
what he's got when he's healthy, and we don't know
exactly when he'll be ready to go but I've listened
and listened to all those interviews because obviously I was
on the air at that time when we played him
all once we had him, and I listened to Mertz
and everything that we've said. He said to you in
(17:54):
that interview that he under he understands the whole thing.
He understands the probably and to me is being a
good professional. He's not walk around going I'm beating CJ.
Stroud out I should be starting. No, it had nothing
to do with that, and.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Very self aware, very self aware.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
And I can appreciate that with a college quarterback become
an NFL quarterback, because.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
There were plenty of this draft that were not self.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Aware, you know, speaking of self aware.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
So I apologize if you've been watching, I've kind of
my eyes have been darting because my cousin Yim has
been texting me and he said, Jim, did you draft
a kid that went to John Carroll High School in
bel Air, Maryland. That's where I went, and that's where
my sister Michelle went. And so I said no, but
Keyante Hamilton went to Georgetown Prep George Crown. Yeah, And
(18:41):
he says, no, no, No. My buddy said, might be
a wide receiver that went to John Carroll and I
kind of put two and two together. I go, I
think you're thinking of our special teams coordinator Frank Ross. Yeah,
who played at John Carroll University in Cleveland, went into
their Hall of Fame last week, so promised John Carroll
and yim you're off just a little bit. It gets
us to kiak to Hamilton. You know what stands out
to me about Cante Hamilton. We got a wrestler. We
(19:03):
got I just a we were about to start this podcast,
I quote tweeted, there's this video of Contay Hamilton and
body slamming in the heavyweights division, which is not easy,
uh and not not like w W wrestling, but you
know Greco Roman high school wrestling. I love I love
when the Texans, when any team has an offensive or
(19:26):
defensive lineman who has been a wrestler, because their handwork
is usually impeccable, their footwork is usually impeccable, their understanding
of leverage and just the physics of moving people around, Yes,
it's typically impeccable. This might be a steal in the
seventh round, getting a defensive tackle who can who can
do some things as a wrestler as.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
A football player. So there we go. You you hit,
you hit on all of it.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And the Texas just recently signed Jake andrews Uh from Troy.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Does he have another wrestling.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Well, i'll tell you my quick stories.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
At the Seier Bowl and my buddy Lance Airline was
talking to him and I walked over, and he's got
this big old beard and it's just kind of interesting character.
And I watched him during practice and I knew. I
just knew just by watching him. I was like, and
so I walked over and I said, you wrestled, didn't you.
He looked at me like I had five heads. He goes, yeah,
how'd you know that? And Lance looked at me and
you see it? I was like, you can see it.
(20:18):
You can tell when guys had been wrestlers, how.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
They didn't have flowers? Did he?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
No, he didn't have cad flower ears, but you could tell.
And I'll find Jay can tell him that story and
remind him of that and see whether he'll remember that.
But but you know, with Hamilton, you can see it.
You know a lot of times when teams are trying
to zone him off, like just the way he turns
his body the way he cantorts, the way he can
kind of grab hold of one but you know, leverage
(20:45):
another guy's he's being double teamed to whatever the case
might be. You can see the wrestler.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
I did not.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I didn't know about the wrestling part as I watched him.
But as I'm watching him, I'm like, there's wrestler there.
You could you could see it. You can see it
in guys and long hold. He was really not only
was he really good high school, but he actually I
think Russell I believe for Rutgers early in his career,
but then he realized he's going to focus on football
at that point. So look at seventh round. There are
(21:12):
two seventh rounders with Hamilton Lache. Yeah were I mean, well.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Here we go, let's do Luke Lache. Let's let's round
things off. Iowa tight end, ooh, Iowa tight end. Usually
that gets people pumped up.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
I think at George Kittle and some of the others
that have come through the greats Laporta. This guy played
with Laporta, and when Laporta left, the idea was, Okay,
he's up, he's next, That's right. But for a variety
of reasons, that Iowa offense kind of sputtered, and this
guy did nice things and can block, but didn't have
the numbers that some of these other Iowa tight ends
have had. But it's just basically Iowa tight end offense
(21:49):
that didn't do what a lot of folks wanted it
to do. And there's still a lot of meat on
the bone with this guy. There's lots of promise I
think with Luke Lache.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, twenty twenty three, double checking my numbers here. Yeah,
he played only the first two and a half games.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Then he got hurt. He was he was thought by
a lot.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Of the draft knicks and all that coming out of
twenty twenty two when he had a pretty good year
he had twenty eight catches, almost four hundred yards, four touchdowns.
He were like, okay, I would tight end because the
same thing I would tight end. Luke Lache, son of
an NFL Pro Bowl off its tackle Jim Lache is
keevian eyes got Then he only plays a couple of
games in twenty twenty three, so I think that kind
(22:29):
of kept him off the radar screen.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
And then at twenty twenty four he had a good start,
then he got hurt.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Missed the game, and then after he missed the game,
so he missed I don't know, a game like seven
or eight. After that, he caught four passes for twenty
two yards in four games, and it's like, what are
we doing? Yeah, Like what happened? Start the year he
caught six or sixty three and all of a sudden,
we're getting to a point. Even against Ohio State he
had five for thirty nine, Like we're catching one for nine,
(22:56):
two for nine, one for four, Like what are we doing?
And so I just felt like when I heard his name,
I was like, wait, hold on, because you know how
a seventh round is drew. It's just you don't see
every pick you're trying to follow from. I literally saw him.
And this happened with Xavier Hutchinson two back in twenty three.
I was like, wait, we just drafted hutch in a
(23:18):
sixth round. He wasn't gone already. And I thought the
same thing with Lachet. I'd seen some of the tight
ends go and I thought he's still on the board.
Like when I did my my draft needs a Football
takerver dot com, I put up three the Texans ones
and I had lache as one of the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
I thought we would look at, you know, a guy
that can play in line.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
You know, he's not you're not quite the blocker that
Jackson Hawes is, but he still could play in line.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
He in the stands.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
He's a tight end that pretty much every I mean
they all do it, but he could be a fit
for every team because of what what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
That's right, that's right. And I think he can play
a couple of the tight end positions too.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So you get a guy like that in the seventh round,
start working with him and you're like, hey man, we
got a little something here.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So look, is he gonna be kiddle? And no, probably not.
Odds would say no.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
But if the guy's willing to work and he's got
the injury stuff behind him, and he comes in and
and look, that's that's what held TQ back. If TQ
had just stayed healthy, he was going to stack another
day on another day and be a pretty good tight end.
He just couldn't stay healthy at all. And so that's
the that's the biggest key I think with the tight
end room especially. I mean, if Luke Luche does anything
in twenty twenty five, just stay healthy because he's a
(24:26):
good enough football player with a good at pedigree of
DNA that if he just stacks good day after good
day after good day, then I think he finds a
way to do something with this tight end group. For sure.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
We've stacked good podcasts after good podcasts. Certainly have I
don't know if I know you and I agree that.
I don't know if anybody else, but I think that, yes, yes,
this has been a longer one, but we have to.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
It's nine picks.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
It's there's only one twenty twenty five NFL Draft class
for the text, and so we got to cover it
in full.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
And we did that. Okay, coming up, it's our favorit
the Boss. Frank Ross, Special teams Coordinator jumping in with
marking myself on Texans All Access. Next, let's go what's
happening everybody. Welcome back to this Friday edition of Texans
All Access. From Monday, Texans Radio Studio. Draft is over,
waiting for Rooky Mini Camp. I think it might be
(25:16):
next week and maybe then OTAs and Mini camp and
then oh my god, it's the desert, Holy Calvin. The
next football thing after that is training camp. It's unbelievable
how fast it is getting here, and that is a
good thing. Okay, Mark and I had a chance to
catch up with Frank Ross, and I don't say this lately.
He's one of my favorite people, not only in our building,
(25:39):
not only the NFL, but that I've ever met. He
has such an energy, he is driven, perhaps more than
any coach I've been around.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
I mean, this guy is just always on it.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
And his energy and his effort in his intelligence make
these special teams what they are. We had a wide
ranging interview with him that we wanted to play for
you again because you missed it the first time. Man,
you really missed out. Here's Frank Cross with Mark and myself,
starting with the discussion about the John Carroll University Hall
of Fame.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross with us in studio. Coach,
Great to see him, Good see you guys. All right,
off season visit. We have a lot to get to. Okay,
hall of Fame, we got to get to that, all right.
In fact, let's get to it first. John Carroll Sports
Hall of Fame. Congratulations, the surprise video we made all
of that.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
What was your reaction to getting in? Thanks?
Speaker 6 (26:30):
Oh, I'm super honored and excited. That was a very
cool moment. Surprise for sure. You know, I've I've closed
my yearbook, so and proudly I'm about the twenty.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Twenty five Texans.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Here comes coach Frank about the twenty twenty five Texans.
But when it gets open and pride open again, incredible
honor and really because like that's not a goal of mine, right,
that wasn't ever a goal of mine. It's always cool.
I want to win games. You know, we weren't the
greatest team in generation of John Carroll sports football when
(27:05):
I was there, but had a lot of fun playing
hard and it was cool to I guess to say,
to be recognized in retrospect by peers or whoever else
up there. And man, I love my school and proud
so it was great honor.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Will there be a ceremony?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Will you get to be able to be with you know,
some of your former teammates on what's kind of that aspect?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Coach?
Speaker 6 (27:26):
Yeah, well half of our building, ye, John Carroll, you know,
apparently celebrate Houston. They're all over the NFL, right, all
of us, No, you know, I hope, but you know,
maybe the football gods will will grace us with a
bye week schedule. I think the ceremony, the actual induction
ceremony will be in the fall sometimes, so we'll see.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I've got a cool story if I may.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Yeah, of course, How did I get my start in
the NFL? Nick Casserio was getting inducted into the Hall
of Fame at John Carroll when I was a junior
and it was evening time, you know, a weekend, and uh,
I play on a suit and tie and waited and
I walked up and I said, Nick, I'm Frank, I
want to work in the NFL one day. Followed back
on a few years later, you know, through that that
(28:08):
communication and connection, and then that's how it all started.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it was cool.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
He must have been on a bye week in New
England at the time. I don't necessarily know. If I
get a chance to be up there, it would be
really great if not. When we had this little surprise
get together here with Nick, coach Dimiko, all the rest
of the JCU guys that here they are here, that
was a cool moment JAK room for everybody. Yeah, I
mean he took up the team auditorium, you know.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, so wait, what happened right after graduation. Was it
right then that you went, how did that work for you?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah? That was a when I first met. That was
my junior year played ball.
Speaker 6 (28:44):
I did a fifth year from a medical red shirt
and played started and tried to play in the NFL,
and they said they looked at the stop watch, and
they said next and then we went to uh uh
spring practice, and I don't have connection.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I don't have all the you know.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
So we went to spring practice and I started coaching
the receivers and got a call eventually to do the
interview in the internship and got stuck on from there.
So it was really I was in a semester of
graduate school and then kind of took it over from
there afterward.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
So it was, uh, midway through my second semester.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
I guess springtime for for that first opportunity and went
right there.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I never looked back.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So we may have asked you this before, but it's
a good time to ask it. Had you not, were
you gonna be a coach? No matter what, regardless of
what happened coach or getting scouting or whatever, was that
the plan, no matter what, like draft day, Vonte mac
No matter what was that what you're gonna do?
Speaker 6 (29:44):
Yeah, man I I it was always first play, Yeah
can I can I wind it even further back, always
to be the second basement for the Cleveland Indians.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then that moved on.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
They said, you can't even make the throat at first
or second base, you know, you know, uh no once
they once it started being man, I was the extension
of coach on the field as a high school player,
and then I moved forward and I was just always
something that I took to and I still have my
goals set for the rest of my career and it's yeah,
(30:15):
I'm doing what I set out to do and love
the game that I get to compete in.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
So I always wanted to be a coach from the jump.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
So along those lines, bringing up playing a second base
for Cleveland is now the Cleveland Guardians.
Speaker 6 (30:30):
Cleveland Guardians. Yeah, I'm being proper, that's right. How when
you when we get.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Into draft stuff, for you just looking at players, how
important is it that guys that you're looking at prospects
you're studying have played multiple sports.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
In your eyes, man, I'm I am not the select
sport raised advocate. I want figure it out like that's
why football is unique. Yeah, he started playing football as
a senior in high school. And you know, you look
at the famous story of the service Alomachenko. He's he's
(31:03):
a dancer. His dad wouldn't let him fight until he
learned how to dance so he can get good feet. Yeah,
you know, so, you just I love that about sport.
To me, football, I want to see an aero athlete
that can play basketball and hang in the air and
contort right to reach back and get a rebound. I
want to see you has space and awareness timing, and
I want to see a wrestler who has body position
(31:23):
and like, to me, that is so important.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I am a big advocate for it.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
If I'm going to be a major league pitcher, I
probably need to be throwing the baseball from the age
of twelve and going to see a specialist. But like
you know, for this process, in this sport, the more
you can do the better.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
In my opinion, I'm one of those. Of course, sure, yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
You were a scout, so does that ever leave you
your special teams coordinator now? But does the scouting part
of you never die?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
I never? I love that.
Speaker 6 (31:53):
I think it not only does it never leave me.
I think it has served me and serves me daily
and has served me well, you got to be a
teacher to be a football coach. You're a teacher, you're
a communicator, an educator. But your number one job when
you're totally out of control, and when that is is
(32:13):
I have zero control on Sundays at noon. My job
is done right like within reasons, but they're out on
the grass doing it. It is my number one job
to put them in the right spot based on their
skill sets and abilities, so that is fitting the puzzle
pieces together. I think that is where like, Okay, what
can this player from Ohio State, from Texas, whatever school
(32:36):
you're looking at? What can he do or can't he do?
How do you see it fitting you? How do you
see something he can do? Oh, let's use that skill set.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Well.
Speaker 6 (32:46):
I think it serves me to this day and will
continue to serve me that. I like, I'm not the
greatest scout as far as building a draft board, and
I can't do that. I'll never claim to do that.
It's not as intriguing to me to then say, all right,
here are the that you're given.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
What do they do?
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Well, let's put them in spots to use their skills.
That to me is an extension of scouting.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Frank, It's been a pretty.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
It's been an incredible offseason in a sense for you
at the Hall of Fame and a lot of things
you have going on.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
He's the sports words, things like that. But I also
know how you are.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I know you care for your players a ton John
Weeks now moves on to San Francisco forty nine ers.
Tucker comes in Andton comes in to be the long
snapper here.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I just I wouldn't mind.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I would think a lot of people would love to
hear your thoughts about Weeks and what he meant to you,
but also what we now have coming.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
In behind him.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Yeah, it's not it's not like, uh, it's the old saying.
You don't replace a You don't replace it John Weeks.
You just you figure out what you can do next
type of situation. That's how much he's meant to this team,
to the organization from his the man that he stood
as and in front of our building for years, setting
the standards, showing up the pros, pro the consistency, the
(33:57):
skills set on the field.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Here's where I take it.
Speaker 6 (34:01):
The person off the field, Like I'm younger than John,
So I come in here as a young coordinator in
twenty twenty one, and I've got a guy who's who's
you know, willing to work with me Like that meant
a lot to me, allowing me to cut my teeth,
if you will, when he's already had done it at
the highest levels of the profession. So he means the
(34:24):
world to me. He'll always mean the world to me,
and I am forever a better coach and leader in
my opinion from working with John, especially on my first
go around. You know, moving forward, it's just you know,
it's football.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Every year is a new year.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
You're gonna it does not matter. The game is going
to show up here in September. We're gonna be ready
to go. And it doesn't matter what it constraints they
put on you. You're gonna make it work.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
So we're gonna do just that. I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (34:52):
I'm excited for that opportunity and the challenge, and and
hopefully the guys are as well, Like, Okay, you don't
have this player or that player, but you do have
this new ad addition, you know, uh, you know, Nick
Neeman and Traymon Smith and Justin and like, okay, how
are they gonna like right, that's where I get excited.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
And that's the daily challenge.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
So you can't look past today, can't look past the
workout today, the meeting today, whatever it may be.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
And we'll just do We'll do it one little step
at a time.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Why is long snapping so difficult? Frank when you look
at the ability to do it, I mean, ideally, if
somebody else, a position player, could just do it really well,
maybe that would be the best thing, be the best thing.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Spot.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
But you need a spot because it's so specific. What
makes it so tough?
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Critical?
Speaker 6 (35:36):
We better have an audience on here today. That's that
is nitty gritty football. Let's talk about let's do it.
This is where this is where the fans come, right,
you know. So no, it is so finite, it is
so repeatable, and there's no room for air.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
There is none.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
So the first thing is is you better be snapping
it on point every time both phases snap for a
long and short for field goal snaps, you better be
on point.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
They're no room for air.
Speaker 6 (36:03):
You know, when guys start rolling them back like they
don't play in the NFL. So that's just you know,
there's a lot of college kids that can snap. Okay,
Then the second part comes in, are you strong, quick,
big enough to get you but back off the line
of scrimmage, eyes up to then play football relative to
the rush that we're gonna We're gonna pick up and
(36:25):
then strike an anchor you ever blocked. Then you go
out your in the a gape after snapping with your
head down. It's a hard thing to do. Good luck,
good luck. Better have a guy that can do it.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
That's the deal.
Speaker 6 (36:36):
So you know, it's just it's it is a very
hard thing to do on repeat, and when do you
get recognized when it goes bad?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
That's it. That's it.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
So you know, it's just it's a thankless job and
that person is special to your organization.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
And I'm excited to, you know, make it work for
this year and front.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
Of somebody Texans Radio, we mentioned the long snappers' name
on every snap app okay every snap weeks.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Would get I appreciate that. So now I'm gonna not
saying his name about John.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean, yeah, it's gonna be like saying La instead
of San Diego.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Yeah, that's right. That's gonna happen.
Speaker 6 (37:12):
There's allow there. We give you a grace period for
Freddy and slips. But then at some point, you know, yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
Coach Mark, what to the annual meetings a few weeks ago?
And I always think about you in those situations because
there are gonna be some rule changes, and it feels
like most of the rule changes are coming out of
the kicking game in some way, shape or form. So
the most recent one is the move of the touchback
from the thirty to the thirty five.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
It's five yards. What does it matter?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
I got a feeling it matters a lot. What are
your thoughts on how the kickoff continues to evolve?
Speaker 6 (37:44):
Yeah, So if I if to take it back to
last offseason when the reason for the whole kick return
and this drastic overhaul of the kickoff kick return play
a safety at the forefront of that to get the
speed in the space and the collisions. And you know,
to the average fan listening, it's it is a violent
(38:05):
play and had been a violent play for a long time.
So I totally understand and respect that player safety first,
and that's why there was a driver forced to get
that done. Also, the play kind of started being touchback,
touch back, touch back. The initial proposal with this new
hybrid kickoff was the thirty five. I thought it was
a little too punitive and year call it trial sample
(38:25):
size year one, So it got tabled, moved it to
the thirty What did.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Teams do kick touchbacks? Not us? But you know, do
you know how many returns Damien Pierce had? How many?
Speaker 6 (38:39):
Do you think I'm gonna say twelve? Yeah, it was
like eight or nine. Yeah, I mean we didn't get
the ball, we didn't get a chance to return the ball.
So if you're going against a good kick returner, I
think Damien is. But if we're playing against a premier returner,
coaches said, you know, just kick it out. Well, now,
if you put that thing to the thirty five, it's
a You're at a forty percent scoring opportunity rate, two
first downs, you got a shot at a field goal.
(39:01):
Not saying it's a make or miss, but like think
about that. Yeah, scoring probably going up a little bit more.
I personally believe you're gonna get more kickoffs. So it's
at thirty three percent a year ago, thirties, I think
that thing is gonna jump closer to the seventies. You're
gonna get touch back still, but not at the clip
that it was. And then you gotta find ways to
(39:22):
do it more often in game, both in coverage and return.
You gotta do it successfully in both, and that is
gonna be a large swing and field position. So then
last detail on it. I know I'm getting wordy. What's
the average starting line of scrimmage after a kickoff? Is
like all thirty two teams are like the first place,
(39:42):
The first ranked team is the thirty and one inch line.
The last ranked team is the twenty nine and one
inch lit like, it's not a big deviation.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I think now you'll have that I think deviation.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
I think I think if you concede the thirty five
yard line and you kick touchbacks, like you're gonna give
up the thirty five for free because the data said,
the play said, put the thing in play and go
tackle the ball inside of the thirty We're gonna try
to do that, you know, within however it plays out
weekly game, et cetera. But you know, it's just I
(40:15):
think you're gonna see a little bit of a separation.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Oil and water there.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Wow, Well, we've come a long way, because the instances
last year where occasionally you'd see a team start at
the twenty. It just looks so it looked like you
were at the goal line or something. And that's how
we used to play football all the time, the time,
always at the twenty.
Speaker 6 (40:33):
Take it to the punting game where the punt's gonna
happen midfield punts. Then you're gonna have more punts to
get dropped inside of the ten. Now they're more backed up,
so backed up offense might uptick. Oh, all the things
right fringe area of the field goal range? Are you
going for it on fourth downs? Are you kicking long
fifty yard field goal at ten? All these things that
you got to start to evaluate. See how it plays out.
(40:56):
We'll see I'm getting ahead of myself. You guys asked
I get going.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
You got.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
But it's the kicking game that gets most of these
you know rule changes. Yeah, there's there was a there
was a proposal for you know, defensive pat not defense
passing if he's holding and leave contact. May be sure,
but it feels like everything is impacting the kicking game.
So I'll ask this, combining the two things we talked about,
scouting and these new rules, when you stare and think, hey,
(41:21):
there may be more returns. We need more guys that
can go down and cover and make tackles. We might
need Damian, we might need more guys that can catch
a kickoff and do something with it. Does that impact
some of the way that you go up with the
scouting and looking at it.
Speaker 6 (41:34):
Yeah, absolutely, And I don't necessarily know if it looks
you know, players, you look at them differently. I just
think it's about more team construction. You're not going to
be healthy across the board for seventeen weeks. You're gonna
have to put the ball in play. There's gonna injuries
may with the more plays that happened. But now you know,
you take it to the element of football. It's like
(41:55):
on the grass field position, you know, so how's the
game being played? You know, you want to control and
dominate field position, and then offensively you want to shorten
the field. So can we return the ball? Do you
have a return game that's adequate or do you have
a return game that's not dominant? So all those things
are going to really start to impact more. And it's
(42:15):
about the field position, and it's about how you're controlling
the game and you know, you might have a way
better team than us. But if we got a short
field all Sunday afternoon and you got a long field,
and it's like that for the defense in our offense,
it's short or long, like you would give that team
the advantage. The NFL is too competitive, too competitive for
that to happen.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
So all right, I got one more for you. Sure,
soon enough, you'll have rookies in for rookie camp. Can
we got to thank your speech to them, your tutelage,
whatever takes place during that three day period, however long
it is, is so important because hey, this is your
real ticket to the NFL, baby, And you might not
have done this stuff in college, but you need to
do it here.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
You need to know. And there's an entry level job.
Come to the fourth down. Come to fourth down. Yeah,
you guys know.
Speaker 6 (43:00):
And I always kind of dangle the caro like player
participation money, like you want how many more players are
on kickoff? People were clamoring to get on field goal
block team. Those are Oh yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
It's a lot of reps for the seasons, you know,
but no, it's uh.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Thought about it. How do you how do you learn
speed of the NFL.
Speaker 6 (43:21):
How do you learn physicality playing against different types of
players us as coaches?
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Yeah, that guy has spatial instincts. You gotta go play
in a kicking game.
Speaker 6 (43:30):
Like, For as long as I'll be in this profession,
I'm blessed to be a spect teams coach. But like
this is, I am a true believer. I believe that
that not only is a good healthy way to cut
your teeth, I think he's an unbelievable developmental skill set
for the rest of your roster. The best way is
(43:51):
a bunch of veterans that are playing really good. You
got a rookie linebacker at that position. As you move out,
you move up. If you could do that on repeat,
I think thirty two teams would sign up for that system.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Along those lines, and this would be last one from me.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
How important is it for your veterans, guys that have
got a little seasoning to be part of those crews
to be able to say, yay, I'll go block a few,
well like did he go outrhy does last year? Hey,
I'll get on punting. How important is it for them
to sort of emulate that to be hey, we'll go
do that. If you need us to and for the
young guys looking go, hey, man, I'm not too big
for my bridges.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
If Deniko's on it, then man, I need to be
on it.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
Yeah, but that's a that's a culture thing You're you're
speaking to right there. I mean, the longer you're in it,
the better you become at it.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Right.
Speaker 6 (44:34):
So, if if dariogum Wale is one of the better
running backs, if not the like, I think the world
of dar a kicking game staple here for how many
seasons now, right, Like, he's not trying to get off
the punt team?
Speaker 2 (44:47):
How many kickoff tackles? Is he not knifeing tackles? Has
he made? You know, I don't know many people.
Speaker 6 (44:53):
You know, I can't speak for everybody, but I don't
know many people that would say that it would wag
wag their nose at that. I think he's done an
outstanding job and to me, like a guy that takes
pride whatever. Jake Hansen, Now at this point, you know
m J. Stewart, Treymond, he's you know, has had a
wildly sex wildly successful career doing fourth down, and I
(45:17):
don't it might not be the superstar living that every
college freshman is staring at right now. But when you
get here, like yeah, it's a pretty darn good way
to go as well. And I think you know for
your team, more veteran replacement you have on the kicking
game rolls, the.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
Better you have a chance to be for sure out
standing coach. Congrats once again on the John Carroll Hall
of Fame. Thanks you, best of luck with the rest
of the off season.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
Thanks guys. Good to see you guys. All right, we
get back.
Speaker 3 (45:42):
We're gonna go round the NFL quickly and then wish
the Rockets some luck.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
We'll do that when we get back right here in
Texas All Access.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
What's happen everybody, Welcome back to this Friday and ish
that Texas All Access our final segment a little quickly
before we turn it over to Area forty five. I'm
John here Football Anaal sideline reported for your Houston Texans
and a huge Rockets fan.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Fingers crossed. Big one to night man.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Is this the the biggest basketball game in Houston and
for Houston professional basketball obviously since well I don't know
what before before COVID for sure, right, it's gotta be
just a big one. And going out there to San Francisco,
knocking off Steph Curry in Game six to bring it
(46:29):
back home in Game seven. Good luck boys, Uh go
get it done, all right, It's hit. A couple of
NFL pieces of news. Jordan Travis Start Florida State, was
drafted by the Jets last year in the fifth round,
hoping he'd come back from a gruesome leg injury, and
he just said, not gonna happen. He has medically, basically
medically retired there with the Jets, which I hate for
(46:50):
him because I think he would have been a guy
like Brock Purty late on Day three. I don't even
think he would have gotten the day three. He'd have
been healthy coming out of Florida State. But he has
called it quits with the Jets.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
The Bills big move.
Speaker 3 (47:04):
I thought Elijah Moore only twenty five years old. When
we were talking about wide receivers way way back in
February and March, I mentioned a few guys that I
thought would make sense for the Texans.
Speaker 2 (47:17):
Rondelle Moore, Elijah Moore, Christian Kirk.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Now, Christian had the contract, but I thought it would
be renegotiate all that kind of stuff. But Elijah Moore,
Rondale Moore. I think I felt like they had a
lot more in their play with the Buffalo Bills. Two
days after Brandon being called into WGR in the morning
because he was listening to their guys kind of bagging
the Bills about the receivers, Elijah Moore becomes a Bill
wide receiver. I think it could be end up being
(47:40):
a very, very good move. The Ravens declined the option
on Tyler Linderbaum. I first saw it and I thought
I'd lost my mind. But then when you think about it,
I think they're trying to find that long term extension
for him and get that done. So his number is
in the ballpark for a center and not for an
offensive lineman.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
So there you go.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
Good luck to Rockets tonight, See you guys on Monday,
and as always, go to Texas
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