Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has high praise for the Georgia Bulldogs’ football program.
Ryans knows what an NFL football player looks like. He played in the NFL from 2006-2015 and began serving on an NFL coaching staff in 2017. Ryans played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2002-2005.
He likes what the Texans have in second-round 2024 NFL draft pick Kamari Lassiter. Lassiter, who played at Georgia, is already competing for a starting role in Houston.
“For Kamari (Lassister), you can tell he’s built for this. Like when it comes to the mental toughness piece that plays a lot into being a good football player at this level, you have to be mentally tough,” said Ryans. “You have to have that next-play mentality and at Georgia, Kirby (Smart) has done a great job, you can tell, of raising them the right way.”
Kirby Smart has led Georgia to a pair of national championship over the last three seasons. During that timeframe, Georgia has had 33 players drafted, which is the most of any college football program.
“Kirby has done a great job with all of his guys,” continued Ryans. “Having those guys NFL-ready to go and that’s one thing you see from Georgia, like year after year since he has been there, those guys are plug-and-play type players, and it’s a credit to him and his program and how they run things there. You get a Georgia guy you know you’re getting an NFL player.”
There’s no doubt that NFL teams love drafting players from Georgia. Georgia prepares players well for the NFL. They face a high level of competition in games and in practice, which enables them to adapt to the NFL level quicker than most of their other rookie counterparts.
Kamari Lassiter recorded one tackle in the Texans’ Aug. 17 game against the New York Giants.