Rookie tight end has some catching up to do.
Now that Texans rookie tight end Kahale Warring is practicing after being activated from the non-football injury list, the thirdround draft pick has a lot of ground to make up.
Warring strained his hamstring working out in California on his own and was out for the first week of training camp.
Although Warring made a huge impression on the coaching staff during the offseason, the former San Diego State standout missed far too much time to suit Texans coach Bill O’Brien. Warring dropped a potential touchdown pass Wednesday, displaying some rust in his first practice back on the field.
“It was all right,” O’Brien said of how Warring looked during his first practice of camp. “These guys, they miss all this time and then they come out here. What you may think is moving around well, I'm not sure I would agree on that with you. I would say he needs to be out there.
“It's just like (defensive end) Charles Omenihu; he’s been out there, knock on wood, every day. He gets better. Kahale is a great kid, but they’re young. They don't understand hydration. They don't understand nutrition. Everything is brand new to them.”
Warring is a physical specimen. At a chiseled 6-5 and 252 pounds, he has run the 40-yard dash in 4.67 seconds. In a runfirst offense, Warring led San Diego State as an honorablemention All-Mountain West Conference selection with 31 catches for 372 yards and three touchdowns. “The most important thing is they have to be on the field,” O'Brien said. “Any veteran player would tell you that the only way you get better and the main way you stick around in the league is that you're an available player. Kahale is starting to understand that. Getting him out there, that was a miracle in itself.”
Blackson a big hit during goal-line drill
In a physical goal-line drill, Texans veteran defensive end Angelo Blackson showed why the team rewarded him this offseason with a three-year, $12 million contract.
Blackson busted through an attempt to block him and slammed running back D’Onta Foreman to the ground.
Blackson, who received $3.5 million guaranteed, is a valuable rotational contributor.
The 6-4, 319-pound former New England Patriots practice squad member recorded 24 tackles and one sack last season, appearing in every game with four starts.
The defense won the drill, keeping the offense out of the end zone with a few exceptions that included touchdowns by Foreman and Damarea Crockett.
“It was good,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “It’s always good to go a little bit live and get a little contact for real.”
Crockett impresses with ‘good attitude’
With a powerful, downhill running style, rookie running back Damarea Crockett is making a strong impression on the coaching staff. Crockett scored a touchdown in a goal-line drill.
An undrafted free agent from Missouri who set freshman school records with 1,062 yards, 10 touchdowns and 225 rushing yards in a single game, Crockett declared early for the NFL draft following his junior year.
Crockett, a bigger back at 5-11 and 225 pounds, is competing with D'Onta Foreman, Karan Higdon, Taiwan Jones and Josh Ferguson for a role behind starter Lamar Miller.
“He runs hard,” Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. “He's a great kid. He works hard on special teams. He's quiet. He's got a good attitude. It will be interesting to see how him and Higdon all those younger guys play in games.”
Odds and ends
Rookie cornerback Lonnie Johnson returned to practice. Johnson left practice over the weekend with an ice pack over his left knee. … Nose tackle Walter Palmore (hamstring) was activated from the non-football injury list.