Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr., Jalen Pitre: ‘Play with their hair on fire’

HOUSTON – Having two foundational chess pieces in the secondary brings a smile to the face of new Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.

One year after the Texans drafted cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. in the first round and safety Jalen Pitre in the second round, they hired NFL Assistant Coach of the Year and former Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans to coach them.

Ryans’ vision for them is simple: a lot of impactful plays as core contributors to an overhauled defense as he implements his scheme.

“Pitre and Stingley those guys fit any defense because they’re both playmakers,” Ryans said. “They’re instinctive. They’re fast. They’re physical, and they love playing football. They like to play with their hair on fire. Any defense we play, anything I call, those guys are going to make it work because they are such great players and they love playing the game.”

Ryans took notice of Stingley Jr. during the scouting process as the former LSU consensus All-American blazed a trail to emerge as the third overall pick of the draft.

Stingley Jr. displayed speed, explosiveness and technique, prompting Texans general manager Nick Caserio to draft him in the first round.

Now, Ryans gets to coach Stingley after an injury-shortened rookie season during which he didn’t allow a touchdown pass and recorded 43 tackles, one interception, five passes defended and one sack in nine games before being placed on injured reserve with a strained hamstring.

“That’s what excites me the most is being able to work with young guys and young guys who are talented,” Ryans said during his introductory press conference. “Stingley has outstanding talent. Scouted him the last year, and I know the talent that he has. I know the competitor that he is. Going to put him in position to make a lot of plays for us. Put him in a position where he can excel and showcase his talents.”

Pitre had a mostly stellar rookie season. The second-round draft pick from Baylor, a former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, led the Texans with 147 tackles and five interceptions.

There are things Pitre knows he can improve. At times, he would play too fast or not break down into a fundamental tackling position or fail to wrap up, leading to a lot of missed tackles.

“The biggest thing I would say is my patience,” Pitre said. “I feel like I developed good patience throughout the year. It’s also one of those things that you could never perfect. So, I’m trying to build on that and trying to just slow my eyes down, and that will allow me to play faster and make those plays that need to be made.

“Just overall knowledge of the game, you’re never complete in your knowledge about the game. It’s always evolving, and you always learn new things. Just leadership, I want to be a guy that the team could use in hard times. I’m just trying to step up in that role,” Pitre said.

Mostly, though, Pitre had an outstanding rookie year.

“Seeing Jalen Pitre, (I) loved him coming out of Baylor,” Ryans said. “ (I) loved the blitzing, loved just the play speed of Pitre. Just to see him come out this past year and five interceptions, the way he attacked the ball, man. Jalen, we got to continue to do that. We’ve got to continue to take the ball away.”

Pitre recorded the most tackles among all NFL rookies and became the first player to record more than 125 tackles and intercept five passes since the tackle statistic began being tracked in 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I feel it,” Pitre said. “I feel like there’s fresh air. Just a great time to be in Houston. We’re trying to bring that feeling back, and we’re trying to just continue to stack days and get better. We’re not really trying to look forward to anything, but we’re just trying to take one day at a time and continue to improve on a day-to-day basis.”

“I look back, and I say ‘it was a great year.’ I got a great number of turnovers, and I think I was very impactful for the defense. Looking forward, I want to do a lot more and I want to be able to bring a lot more guys and help the team a lot more. That’s what I’m focused on going forward, and I think we’re going to continue to improve,” he said.

Having Ryans in place, playing for a coach who’s been in their shoes as a former Pro Bowl linebacker and defensive team captain with the Texans is significant for Pitre.

“He’s a great head coach, a guy that’s really intentional with what he’s doing,” Pitre said .”You can see it in his meetings. You can really feel it at practice. He’s making sure that every rep that I’m doing, whether it’s a walkthrough, a practice, even in the film room, that I’m seeing the things that I need to see and finishing the right way. He’s always talking to me about my body position and my leverage. I’m thankful to have a coach that cares so much about the game and really loves the game of football.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.