The Houston Texans selected former Florida outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard in the third round of last year’s draft.
The position was simple in former defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s 3-4 scheme, which was a continuation of the 3-4 the Texans had been running since 2011. All Greenard had to do was stand up and rush the passer.
With the new 4-3 scheme defensive coordinator Lovie Smith is transitioning to, Greenard may have to get into a three-point stance. However, the 6-3, 263-pound edge defender is ready to do whatever it takes to stay on the field.
“I have no problem with it, whether I’m standing up or hand in dirt,” Greenard told Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com. “I mean, I really just want to play. Just tell me what I need to do. I can go out there, execute and do that 100% and not have us thinking too much. And from that point on, I think you all will see the results play because once we get to a comfortable system that kind of fits everyone, just lets everybody play to their ability and within the system as well, I think that makes everyone play faster.”
If Greenard does play defensive end for the Texans, it will be a return to a position he played in high school for Hiram High School in Georgia.
“Not many people know I didn’t start playing defensive end, until my junior, senior year of high school and I only came in playing third down,” said Greenard. “So I kind of just knew how to just run past it but I knew one move was the sideswipe. And that’s kind of where that took off.”
The 23-year-old, who also played collegiately at Louisville, played in 13 games for the Texans with one start, collecting 18 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, three quarterback hits, and a pass breakup.