Houston Texans: 3 Goals for Ross Blacklock’s rookie season

3. Houston Texans: Earn a spot in the starting lineup

This goal isn’t easy to achieve for any Houston Texans rookie, as head coach Bill O’Brien spoke about the importance of veterans for the 2020 season. There is the fact that as a rookie Ross Blacklock will be battling for not only playing time, but the goal to be the top defensive tackle on the team.

Blacklock at 6’3″ and 290 pounds was no stranger to the starting lineup while at TCU. His final season with the Horned Frogs saw him play in 12 games, and in those games he totaled 25 solo tackles, nine tackles for loss and even 3.5 sacks as a defensive tackle. Against Kansas this past season at TCU, Blacklock had 2.5 TFL, and in a game against Baylor, that number was 1.5 TFL.

Before the Texans selected Blacklock, the following was said by Blacklock in an NFL.com interview by Brooke Cersosimo about his passion for game day:

"“I’ve always had the passion and that part has never changed over the years. My favorite part of game day is the smell. Game day has a specific smell. I can’t describe it; it just smells like game day.”"

To gain a spot in the starting lineup as a rookie, the competition for the rookie Blacklock includes Eddie Vanderdoes and fellow rookie Auzoyah Alufohai. Though Blacklock might have the edge at the moment being in the starting lineup, don’t forget there are some good veteran defensive tackles who could join the team via free agency.