HOUSTON — As Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio spoke with the media before the 2023 training camp started at Houston Methodist Training Center, you could hear the chatter from the players as they approached the field to prepare for the day.
“Man, I have been excited for training camp in a long time,” said one veteran talking to one of his teammates.
There was a sense of enthusiasm as players stretched and organized themselves for team activities. Once practice started, individuals felt a sense of urgency to show new head coach DeMeco Ryans and Caserio just how much they had worked in the off-season.
Yet, one day will not be enough to win over the two men with over 30 years of combined NFL knowledge.
“Anybody’s probably going to be able to go out there and put together one good day of practice,” said Caserio. “You (media) will comment on the highlight reel plays, who did what in practice, this guy made this catch, this guy did that. What you’re looking for is consistency and longevity over the course of a long period of time.”
“Then you combine what they do in the field, what they do in the classroom. Can they actually take the concepts that they are teaching, that they’re learning, can they apply them on the field, can they make the correction? And can they do that over the course of, I would say, extended periods of time? That’s what we’re trying to evaluate.”
Here are a few takeaways from training camp: