Houston Texans Thursday Roundup

Jan 1, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; UCF Knights quarterback Blake Bortles (5) signals to teammates prior to the snap during the second half against the Baylor Bears in the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

We all might have our focus a little bit tilted to March Madness the next few days, but we can still sneak a little bit of Houston Texans football talk into the mix as well on this Thursday afternoon.

Yesterday all the talk was on UCF quarterback Blake Bortles and the Houston Chronicle’s Ultimate Texans blog wrote about how the soon the be first round selection received praise from the experts at ESPN.

In the blog post by John McClain, it stated in a quote from ESPN analyst and former NFL QB Ron Jaworski:

"“I was really impressed. On a scale of 1 to 10 today, I’d say a 10. He was very sharp.”"

Wednesday was a very good day for Bortles in his pro day, as it had to improve his draft stock, or at least move him closer to Teddy Bridgewater as being the best QB in the Class of 2014, as Bridgewater didn’t have the best of pro days on Monday.

In other Texans news:

•  ESPN also had some thoughts on Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M as analyst and former NFL running back Merril Hoge said the following as quoted in an article on CSN Houston:

"“He has absolutely no instinct or feel for pocket awareness. He has an instinct to run … In fact, I see bust written all over him, especially if he’s drafted in the first round.”"

Those were some strong words by Hoge, and I don’t totally disagree with him. I’d rather the Texans not select him in the first round, especially with the No. 1 pick, but the folks in charge know more about Manziel than what I do.

It will be interesting in see what Manziel does in his private workout later this month, but at least Hoge is being honest with him, instead of believing the hype around Manziel and what he achieved at the collegiate level.

• Here is an article from House of Houston and how Danieal Manning is “on board” with Jadeveon Clowney.

• Here is a CBS Sports article on former Texans lineman Eric Winston and how he was elected the new president of the NFLPA.

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