Jalen Pitre described as ‘outstanding’ by Texans coach Lovie Smith

There is some good news coming from Houston Texans OTAs

When Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith describes a rookie as “outstanding” during OTAs in June, well, that gets fans excited. That player is safety Jalen Pitre, and he’s a player to be excited about for the ’22 season.

It is hard to describe how thrilling it is to hear and read that Smith seems to be impressed with the rookie Pitre, because the secondary is so important to the Texans this season, as they are replacing Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Justin Reid, who had been with the franchise for a number of years.

Pitre brings a bit of fresh air and new hope to a secondary that had their share of issues last season, though that can be said for the entire team in 2021.

As for the rookie safety, here is what Smith said during a press conference with the Houston media this week, with transcripts provided by HoustonTexans.com:

"“(Jalen) Pitre, for one, he’s been outstanding. Knack for the football. Has done a lot of good things.”"

Coach Lovie Smith also spoke highly of a couple other 2022 rookies, those being Kenyon Green and Christian Harris:

"“You can say the same thing about Kenyon (Green). You saw today Christian Harris was out there with the ones a lot of the day. The young rookies are progressing the way we want them to.”"

This rookie class has a real opportunity to be a special group of players, as general manager Nick Caserio and the Houston coaching staff seem to have done a nice job of selecting a player who will fit in well with the offensive system of Pep Hamilton, and the same with the defense that Smith uses each week in the NFL.

When the Texans had their draft and they selected Pitre, the Toro Times gave the choice a grade of a B+ as the second-round selection (37th overall) was a much-needed selection when that pick was on the clock.

Also at the time, it was written in the draft grade article that it “the fact this was the perfect spot to draft a safety,” and that statement still rings true today. Pitre will make a big difference for Houston at some point this season.

Whether it takes a couple regular-season games, or he is a force in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium, Pitre will make his mark in the secondary sooner rather than later.

Pitre is too talented not to be a difference maker for the Houston Texans this season, and already in OTAs Pitre is drawing praise from a veteran NFL coach. Don’t be surprised whether it’s against the Colts, Broncos, Bears or another team on the schedule, Pitre will make the big plays, and he be one of the reasons why the Texans will earn more wins in ’22 than they did last season.