Houston Texans camp: who to watch on offense

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans guard Xavier Su

Xavier Su’a-Filo was a highly regarded prospect coming out of UCLA in 2014, with many of the draft experts calling for him to be a first round selection. Instead, the 6’4″ and 307 pound guard had to wait until the second started round to be selected.

Su’a-Filo was the first selection in the second round by Houston, which was a bit surprising considering the dire situation at quarterback at the time. In fact, none of the three quarterbacks on the roster now were ben members of the team when they passed on Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr in favor of the guard.

With fans clamoring for a quarterback they could depend on and root for, the selection of the Bruin would only be quieted if he could live up to draft expectations and after one season, he has not.

Su’a-Filo managed only one start in 2014 and when the Texans’ coach discussed their second selection under his belt, his assessment seemed rather lukewarm.

"“I think he’s getting better,” O’Brien said. “I think it is very difficult for a rookie to play on the inside. I think you see some rookies being able to do that. Other guys, it’s kind of some good, some not so good. I think Xavier falls into that category. He is a great kid. He’s a hard worker. He’s got a really good future in this league. He just needs to learn a little bit more about the tricks of the trade. We’ll continue to play him, give him a shot in there, but hopefully he learns from some of his mistakes, and he will.”"

Since then the news seems better surrounding the interior lineman. While he is currently working at left guard, O’Brien also hinted at the possibility of him playing some center.

I will be keeping an eye on the sophomore to see if he has adapted to the speed of the NFL game. It will also be something to watch if the Texans decide to try his hand at center and perhaps leave last seasons’ starting left guard Ben Jones there, while moving Xavier inside even more.

Even if he stays as a starting guard, getting some snaps at center would show that the staff trusts him enough in his role to experiment in other spots. As for the player himself, the more he learns could only help him as he tries to make people forget that he was selected over a few quarterbacks with solid potential.

Next: Will coach Bill trust a rookie wide receiver?