As the players for the Houston Texans began to make their way onto the field, one man was standing there to greet them and get them ready for the day ahead. New head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, who is usually the first person at NRG Stadium, makes sure he says a couple of words to the majority of the players who pass him.

“Offseason work is just invaluable on what we can get done out here,” said coach Smith after practice. “Everything we’ve been doing, phase one, phase two, has been leading up to our NFL version of spring ball, these OTAs. As you can see, it’s one thing to go through a lot of drills, but once you start getting offense vs. defense, decisions have to be made.”

Like all other teams throughout the NFL, Houston began their voluntary workouts that will lead up to their mandatory three-day minicamp in June. All but three players were in attendance for the Texans, including starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil and defensive lineman Malik Collins.

“At Big Sandy, voluntary is voluntary,” coach Smith said about the players, not in attendance. “You can show up as you like; you don’t have to. I kind of go on that in the end. Yeah, I’d like for guys to be up here all day, staying with the coaches and putting in as many hours as we like, but they have some options. Eventually, we’ll have everyone here.”

The Texans will have to wait a little longer to see some of their rookie talents take the field in live competition. Rookie Derek Stingley Jr. who was selected third overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, participated in individual drills but watched from the sidelines during team drills. Stingley is still recovering from the season-ending Lisfranc surgery he had last year while attending LSU.

One player that Houston hopes will take that next step is quarterback Davis Mills who will come into the season as the starter. The second-year player has put in a lot of work this offseason getting his body together for a rigorous 17-week NFL schedule and working out with his receivers to get their timing down.

“Every day we’ve opened up the building, he’s been in here,” said coach Smith. “He’s our quarterback. When you’re the leader, you’ve got to be visible. It’s been documented on what I think of Davis. I think he’s going to be an excellent quarterback in the NFL for a lot of years, but it’s about this year.”

“Having a year, he and Pep Hamilton getting on the same page with our offense, and him being in a role from the start, that’s different also. But that’s what you do. You have a chance for him to establish himself as one of our primary leaders each day.”