HOUSTON -- The first practice of rookie minicamp ended with conditioning.
The 32 rookies and eight first- or second-year veterans ran from sideline to sideline in groups based on their positions and size. Linebackers coach Mike Vrabel, as he's wont to do, joined them, and they were prodded not to let a coach beat them.
"We have a lack of conditioning," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "These guys need to get in better shape as a whole. I’ll say this, that’s not entirely their fault. Like I said yesterday, they’ve been training for the combine. The 40-yard dash, the broad jump, the shuttle run, all those different drills that they have to do. That doesn’t equate to football shape, especially in Houston."
O'Brien's view on rookies is that they enter the NFL having no idea what it takes to be NFL players. He reminds them of that often, no matter who they were in college. He considers his and his staff's job that of teaching them what it means.
"You’re competing with guys that are just as good as you,"O'Brien said. "All these guys were starters on their college team. It’s another level of football. You’re running a lot, especially in skill positions. For receivers and defensive backs, both [first-round pick] Kevin Johnson and [third-round pick] Jaelen Strong need to get in better shape."
The mental acclimation matters just as the physical acclimation does.
It starts with daily routines and study habits. Last night during an offensive meeting, he showed the players the scripts for practices at various points in the offseason as a way to illustrate how much they were going to be expected to learn.
They aren't around many veterans right now, but the ones they are set a good example. O'Brien singled out receivers EZ Nwachukwu, Travis Labhart and Jace Davis, all first and second-year players.
"These guys are in way better shape than the other guys; that’s good for the rookies to see that," O'Brien said. "They’re like, oh these guys have been here, they’re working out. For those guys, they’ve been here on their own for a bit throughout the offseason, let alone the offseason program, and they’re in really good shape.
