Tag: Charles Omenihu

Former Longhorn Charles Omenihu ‘plays with a chip on his shoulder’

Former Longhorn pass rusher Charles Omenihu is having a reunion with his former coach Chris Rumph. Said he plays with a chip on his shoulder

The Longhorns defense missed a player like Charles Omenihu in 2019. During his senior year he finished with 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. The team didn’t have a way to replace that production. The hope and thought is Joseph Ossai can bring that production back to the pass rush in 2020. As for Omenihu, he is looking to bring that production and competitive edge to the Houston Texans.

Omenihu was reunited with his former coach at Texas. Chris Rumph spent 2014-15 with the Longhorns before he departed to the Florida Gators. This past season he left Tennessee to join Bill O’Brien’s staff with the Texas. It brought on a reunion with Omenihu.

“Besides being a really good football player, he’s a great young man who comes from a really, really good family. I’m excited to get back with him. When I saw him for the first time the other day, I was just amazed at how much he’s grown.” – Texans outside linebacker coach Chris Rumph

“He was just a big, tall, lanky, skinny kid and now he’s grown into a young man,” said Rumph. “He looks really good and I’m excited for him. The sky is the limit for him.”

Omenihu’s coach goes on to talk about how he plays with a chip on his shoulder. If you play in the NFL you have to have a driving force and for the former Longhorn it is that chip that will help propel him to new heights. Omenihu is looking to make a bigger splash in the NFL during his sophomore campaign.

For all updates on Charles Omenihu and the Houston Texans, check out our colleagues at the Texans Wire.

Texans OLB coach likes that DE Charles Omenihu plays with a chip on his shoulder

Houston Texans outside linebacker coach Chris Rumph says that defensive end Charles Omenihu plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he likes it.

Training camp has been a reunion for a position coach and a young player.

For the first time since the Houston Texans hired Chris Rumph as outside linebackers coach, the former Texas Longhorns assistant coach for defense/defensive line was able to reunite with a kid he recruited from Rowlett High School in 2014, Charles Omenihu.

“What a wonderful young man,” Rumph said. “Besides being a really good football player, he’s a great young man who comes from a really, really good family. I’m excited to get back with him. When I saw him for the first time the other day, I was just amazed at how much he’s grown.”

Omenihu is a 6-5, 280-pound edge defender the Texans selected in Round 5 of the 2019 NFL Draft. The former Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year collected 3.0 sacks and two forced fumbles in his rookie year.

“He was just a big, tall, lanky, skinny kid and now he’s grown into a young man,” said Rumph. “He looks really good and I’m excited for him. The sky is the limit for him.”

One of the reasons why Omenihu was able to make an impact with the Texans in 2019, and give hope for his future development, is due to his playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Said Rumph: “Once you get to this level here, you have to have something that is pushing you every day and something that is pushing you towards that goal. Not only being the best on the team but being the best in the league. I think Charles, along with a bunch of other guys, have that ‘why.’ I’m glad that he does have that chip on his shoulder and I’m glad to see that he is pushing towards his goals and his dreams.”

The Texans are getting back a big piece of their pass rush in J.J. Watt, who is returning from a torn pectoral injury that sidelined him for the final eight regular season games. If Watt can return to his All-Pro form with Omenihu taking another step in his development, Houston will have a formidable pass rush that will worry offensive coordinators all season.

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J.J. Watt says Texans are counting on DE Charles Omenihu and OLB Jacob Martin

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt says the pass rush is counting on DE Charles Omenihu and OLB Jacob Martin to be effective in 2020.

Defensive end J.J. Watt has been the focal point of the Houston Texans’ pass rush since 2012, the year after his rookie season when he flashed immense potential in the AFC wild-card.

However, the 2020 defense’s pass rush may be dependent on the performance of youngsters on the roster in second-year defensive end Charles Omenihu and third-year outside linebacker Jacob Martin. In 2019, Omenihu collected 3.0 sacks while Martin tallied 3.5. The potential for more is out there.

“Obviously those guys being effective will be massive for us,” Watt told reporters on Saturday. “With our third-down package, you have to have pressure coming from all different places. You have to have guys coming up the middle, being able to put pressure on the pocket up the middle so the edges have the ability to bend the corner and get to the quarterback.”

Watt emphasized that the pass rush will have to be formidable in the early portion of the Texans’ schedule when Houston faces Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kirk Cousins in the first four weeks of the season.

Said Watt: “With some of the guys in our league and some of the guys we’re going to play early on in the season who are extremely mobile and extremely good at moving around in the pocket and sometimes out the back of the pocket, you have to have guys who can chase them down and be able to get them wherever they want to go, because those guys really will go anywhere and they have the arm strength to throw from anywhere.”

Omenihu has been working in the offseason with Super Bowl champion outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware on his technique as the former Texas Longhorn looks to take a leap in year two.

“It’s going to be very important that we’re all on the same page and that we all do a great job together of collapsing the pocket and not just getting pressure from one spot or another,” said Watt.

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Texans DE Charles Omenihu worked out with former Cowboys, Broncos OLB DeMarcus Ware

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu worked out with former Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Charles Omenihu is serious about taking a step forward in 2020.

The 2019 Houston Texans fifth-round pick from Texas posted on Twitter on June 8 that he had a chance to work with former Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Working with Ware would help Omenihu add a few more pass-rushing moves to his skillset. One note about the Super Bowl champion imparting wisdom on the 22-year-old is that Ware played outside linebacker in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense in Dallas and Denver, whereas Omenihu is a defensive end in Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 scheme, which now has been turned over to defensive line coach Anthony Weaver.

Nevertheless, there is still plenty of pass-rushing knowledge that Omenihu can pick up from Ware.

The former Rowlett High School product collected 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, five quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups in his 14 games with Houston. If Omenihu can take the next steps as an edge defender, it could help the Texans easily transition from J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, who are in their thirties, to more youthful pass-rushers on the roster.

What would an NFL defense look like comprised of only Texas Longhorns?

A look at an NFL defense comprised of Texas Longhorns. Earl Thomas and Jordan Hicks were bonafide locks but who are the rest?

Some of the best defenders in the NFL hail from the University of Texas. Earl Thomas being one of the bigger names as he was recently named safety of the decade by Pro Football Focus. The lineage of defenders doesn’t begin with Thomas, but it goes all the way back to players such as Tommy Nobis, Tom Landry and more recently Casey Hampton. The series of professional teams comprised of Longhorns continues. Recently we published our list for the offense.

The focus will shift to the defensive side of the ball. After all there is that old adage of defense wins championships. Not necessarily the case in all championship teams but without one your team stands no chance of winning. Top defenders such as Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton and Roy Miller won’t make the list as they have retired from their professional careers but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty to choose from.

Let’s start with the defensive ends of our all Texas Longhorns team.

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Anthony Weaver says Texans have talented pass rushers on the roster

First year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver likes the cupboard of pass rushers on the Houston Texans roster.

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Houston Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will be helped along by talented, proven edge rushers in his first year in defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

However, Weaver, who has been the team’s defensive line coach since 2016, is well aware of the other edge defenders who may not be household names, and how they can impact the rest of the unit.

“We have a bunch of talented rushers on the roster,” Weaver told Houston reporters on a video conference Wednesday. “The beauty for me is that I’ve got to find ways to put them in the best place to be successful.”

What Weaver has seen in practice and also reviewing film in the offseason is that the Texans have pass rushers who can win one-on-one battles with blockers.

“We have guys that can win one-on-ones,” said Weaver. “Now we’ve just got to put the pieces in the right spots.”

The Texans finished with 31 sacks in 2019, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth-fewest in the NFL. Mercilus led the team with 7.5.

However, it won’t just be Mercilus and Watt, who missed eight games with a torn pectoral, that have to return to high levels of production. Younger players such as defensive end Charles Omenihu, who enters his second season, third-year outside linebacker Jacob Martin, and outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor have to find ways to continue their development. These pieces will be helped along by veteran contributors such as Brennan Scarlett and rookies like third-rounder Jonathan Greenard.

“We’ve got guys that can get to the quarterback and it’s all about what we can do schematically to help present those matchups so they can be successful,” Weaver said.

A formidable pass rush also helps in generating turnovers. The Texans defense created 22 takeaways last season, tied with Washington for the 15th-most in the NFL.

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Texans Talk Podcast: Visiting with Houston DE Charles Omenihu

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu drops by the “Texans Talk Podcast” to talk about his goals for 2020 and what motivates him.

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The “Texans Talk Podcast” returns this week with two very special guests.

In the first half of the podcast, host Anthony Wood gets a chance to catch up with Texans Radio Network play-by-play Marc Vandermeer and get his thoughts on Houston’s roster post-draft. Vandermeer also talks about how receiver Brandin Cooks has the right makeup off-the-field of a Bill O’Brien type of guy.

The second half of the podcast features an exclusive interview with defensive end Charles Omenihu. The edge defender, who enters his second year after being taken in the fifth-round of last year’s draft, reveals his goals for 2020.

Make sure to keep up to date with all of the latest Texans news, rumors, and analysis by subscribing to the “Texans Talk Podcast” on Apple, Google, Stitcher, or Audioboom.

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WATCH: Texans DE Charles Omenihu pushes a truck

As part of his offseason workout routine, Houston Texans DE Charles Omenihu was seen pushing a truck.

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu is upping his game for workout routines this offseason.

The former 2019 fifth-round pick from Texas was seen in a video posted to his Twitter moving a truck.

Omenihu played in 14 games for the Texans in his rookie season, producing 13 tackles, 3.0 sacks, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups.

“That was a good pick and he’s done a lot of good things,” coach Bill O’Brien said of Omenihu on Dec. 17, 2019. “He’s a hard worker. He’s young, he’s still learning. I think it’s important for Charles to stay humble and hungry.

“Stay humble and hungry, Charles, because if you don’t, it’s a tough league. I think if he does that, he’ll stay on the right track.”

At the pace on Omenihu is on, he will be able to push a whole car lot. The Texans will need to get bigger and better production out of their fifth-round steal to bolster their anemic pass rush.

DE Charles Omenihu likes the Texans hiring OLB coach Chris Rumph

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu endorses the recent hiring of Chris Rumph as outside linebackers coach.

Defensive end Charles Omenihu is in favor of the Houston Texans’ recent hiring of Chris Rumph to be the team’s outside linebackers coach in 2020.

According to a tweet from the former 2019 fifth-round pick from Texas, Rumph attempted to recruit Omenihu in high school at Rowlett (Texas) High School in 2014 when he was the assistant head coach and defensive line coach under Charlie Strong.

While Rumph did end up getting Omenihu to commit to Texas, the defensive line coach was on to a new job in 2015 with the Florida Gators as their defensive line coach, and eventually serving as co-defensive coordinator in his last year of 2017.

Rumph previously spent the past two seasons as the Tennessee Volunteers’ outside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Omenihu collected 3.0 sacks, 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups in 14 games played for the Texans. While new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will continue to coach Omenihu and other defensive linemen, at least Houston brought into the fold a coach that could be well-respected by the players.

2020 Recruiting: Alfred Collins

Texas Longhorns target, Alfred Collins will be in action this weekend in the All-American Bowl.

The recruiting class so far has yielded on of the top classes in the nation but Tom Herman and the Texas Longhorns still have work to do. One target still in the cross hairs is Alfred Collins of Bastrop, Texas.

The four star defensive end would be a huge get for Texas. As was evident in the Alamo Bowl, when the pass rush gets going the Longhorns can play with anyone in the country. The Utes were ranked in the top 12 for a reason and the Longhorns defense was able to play some suffocating defense. It was something that gave fans some hope for the future.

The defense has been missing that pass rusher like Charles Omenihu, Alex Okafor or even Brian Orakpo. Enter Alfred Collins. The pass rusher will be on display in the All-American Bowl this weekend and could give Longhorns faithful a glimpse of their future. Collins is a long athlete that is still filling out his frame but has the ability to help a pass rush that was lacking in 2019.

He has a relentless motor that will be key for him in the Big 12, with out offense perform in this conference Collins will need to get downfield to help with swarming to the ball. He has some technique with his hand placement that will only improve with college coaching. He uses his long arms and frame to his advantage, it will be difficult for quarterbacks to throw over the 6’5″ edge defender.

Collins can rush from anywhere on the defensive front and does so with some quickness and power. He isn’t the premiere sack master that some will covet but as your strong-side defensive end, Collins is good at setting the edge and stopping the run. During his three years in high school he tallied 25 tackles, 74 of them were tackles for loss and 18 sacks.

Should Herman get Collins to sign with Texas then the Longhorns defense will definitely be heading in the right direction.