Texans’ Jalen Pitre stays true to his roots, visiting Stafford Cobras youth team he played for: ‘It’s so much joy’

HOUSTON – As Texans nickel Jalen Pitre walked onto the Stafford High School football field with his parents, it represented a return to his roots and a cool moment in his hometown.

Pitre surprised the youth football team he grew up playing for, the Stafford Cobras, Tuesday night by visiting them and their cheerleaders for their final practice of the season and providing dinner from Trill Burgers. It was a full-circle moment for Pitre, a hard-hitting former second-round draft pick who played high school football on this field before accepting a scholarship to Baylor where he was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

“Its fun, man,” Pitre said. “This is home. It’s just to come out and see more football, see the next generation, just coming out here having fun with them. It’s always fun just to be around all these kids because it’s just so simple and it’s so much joy.”

Pitre was with the Cobras one night after delivering some big hits in a win over the Dallas Cowboys, including a forced fumble that was returned by defensive end Derek Barnett for a touchdown.

“They’re always asking about the previous game, any big plays that happen and then sometimes there will be a couple of ‘Why we lost to this team, why this happened, why didn’t you do this?’” Pitre said. “It’s always fun because they give you the truth. It’s no ins and outs with them. They’re going to go straight to it. They were talking about the big hits, the fumble recovery by DB, that was probably the biggest thing.”

As part of the Texans’ Community Huddle ticket program, the league is treated to tickets, food vouchers and parking passes to every home game at NRG Stadium courtesy of Pitre.

“A lot of memories, a lot of memories of me and my dad. I spent a lot of time out on this field, a lot of work,” Pitre said. “Just to see how far it has taken me is really crazy to just even think about. I’m forever thankful for all those memories. It’s definitely emotional.

I haven’t shed any tears or anything like that, but it’s crazy just to be out here and just to see why I came from. There’s some dawgs out here. We’ve got three weeks going to the Super Bowl and we’ve got two other teams going to the Lone Star Bowl. So, it’s a big week for the Cobras.”

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