Local boy simply trying to make good
Katy’s Gillaspia gets to play at NRG in bid to make team
It’s difficult to imagine any player being more excited about the Texans’ second preseason game than rookie fullback Cullen Gillaspia.
The Texans play a meaningless exhibition against the Detroit Lions on Saturday night, but it’s at NRG Stadium, where Gillaspia will make his debut in front of family, friends and fans making the short drive from Katy.
Gillaspia, the seventh-round draft choice from Texas A&M, was so excited in practice this week he could barely contain his enthusiasm for Saturday’s game.
“I can’t wait,” he said after the second of two joint practices against the Lions. “It’s going to be a dream come true to get to wear that Texans’ jersey and run out at NRG and play against some of the best. It’ll be awesome.”
Fans attending the game will get their first chance to watch in person
the draft class that began with left guard Tytus Howard in the first round and ended with Gillaspia in the seventh.
They’ll also see cornerback Lonnie
Johnson Jr. (second round), right guard Max Scharping (second) and defensive end Charles Omenihu (fifth).
Tight end Kahale Warring (third round) and cornerback Xavier Crawford (sixth) aren’t expected to play because of injuries.
This game is another challenge for the younger players trying to earn a spot on the 53-man roster or even the 10player practice squad.
But none has an emotional stake in the game like Gillaspia, who grew up a fan of the Texans and sobbed when they drafted him.
“I’ve been here since day one, back in the David Carr days,” he said. “I’ve always been a Texans fan, so it’s going to be cool to get out there and play for this team.”
Gillaspia remembers the feeling when he walked onto Kyle Field for the first time.
“You don’t forget something like that,” he said. “It’s the next level walking into NRG. It’s going to be a great time.”
Gillaspia is trying to earn a place on the roster by excelling on special teams, his strength at Texas A&M, but provide coach Bill O’Brien with something the offense didn’t have last year — a fullback.
Gillaspia, 6-2 and 235 with 4.5 speed, has gotten a lot of attention in practice because of his receiving ability. He has soft hands, and when he has got the ball he shows a burst when he turns up the field and takes off.
Gillaspia is eager to show O’Brien, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and special-teams coordinator Brad Seely what he can do.
Unfortunately for a player like Gillaspia, he has to wait until games to impress his coaches with his ability to run over defenders and how he can charge down the field on kickoff and punt returns and make tackles.
“Being homegrown, the level of excitement for (him) and his family is very high,” running backs coach Danny Barrett said. “He’s raw as far as a fullback, but he’s a great special-teams player. He loves the game, comes in excited every day looking to get better.
“That’s the key for (him), working on that level of consistency, trying to be a fullback but also contributing any way he can to help us win.”
Gillaspia, who walked on at A&M and became the 12th Man, knows where his bread is buttered.
“I think Coach O’Brien has said it many times — I’ve got to be the best player I can be on special teams,” he said. “That’s a big reason I was drafted. I’ve got to give everything I’ve got when it comes to punt, punt return, kick and kick return.
“Then, along with that, being able to be a weapon on offense and being able to help this offense as much as possible.”
In the first preseason game at Green Bay, a 28-26 loss, Gillaspia caught one pass for 6 yards but didn’t make a tackle. He’s hoping to change that after another week of training camp featuring the two practices against Detroit.
“It’s been great,” he said about the joint practices. “You get to come out here and ( go) against the Detroit Lions. You’re sharing a field with guys like (quarterback) Matthew Stafford. That’s an incredible feeling.
“But it’s just another day at work. We got new stuff going in every day. I’m doing my job and doing what the coaches ask me to do. I’m trying to put my best foot forward on film.”
Gillaspia wasn’t drafted as high as Howard, Johnson or Sharping. He didn’t have a college career as impressive as Omenihu, but if he makes a play against the Lions, nobody will get a louder ovation from a larger cheering section.