If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to Texans All-Access on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Training camp starts soon and we're going to be live every morning — but right now, I want to take a step back and share some of the conversations John Harris and I have had over the last month with players on this roster. We sat down with 33 guys during our internal media days, and every time I think I've heard the most compelling story in the building, somebody else sits down in front of us and tops it.
Take DE Ali Gaye. Ali grew up in The Gambia playing soccer — center back, left back. He moved to the United States at 12 years old and didn't even know what American football was. He walked past a practice field one day after science class, asked the coach what sport it was, and the coach told him he'd have to wait until eighth grade to try it. Ali waited, started playing, and then between eighth grade and freshman year, grew from 5'8" to 6'3" in one summer. He went from a kid who'd never touched a football to a professional defensive end, and now he's back in Houston after two years in Tennessee, working alongside Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter every day. His goals for year four are clear: finish at the top of the rush, set the edge, and play with more violence. And every single day since we recorded that interview, Ali has found me or John in the hallway just to shake our hands and say thank you. That tells you everything about the kind of person he is.
Then there's CB Brandon Codrington, who we talked to on the same show. Zero scholarship offers out of high school. None. He walked on at North Carolina Central, became a three-time All-MEAC selection, went undrafted, signed with the Jets, got traded to the Bills, and earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors as a return specialist. Now he's here with us, and here's the twist — Brandon already owned a home in Houston before we ever signed him. He'd been training in the city during the offseason because he loved it here. Full circle.
WR Jared Wayne is another guy whose journey just makes you smile. He's from Peterborough, Ontario — a Canadian kid who came to Pittsburgh for college and has been grinding his way up the roster ever since. Year four is coming, and Jared told us the biggest change in his development has been his route-running evolution and learning to play angry after the catch, something he picked up watching Nico Collins. The receiver room has adopted a mentality they call "get sick" — just a relentless approach to everything they do. And Jared went out and bought his own Jugs machine so he could put in extra work on his own time. When John asked him what advice he'd give to the rookie version of himself, he said, "You're exactly who you think you are. Be yourself." I thought that was perfect.
DT Naquan Jones arrived on Texans campus last year just in the nick of time when we needed help on the D-line. He's been an undrafted grinder his entire career — five NFL stops before landing in Houston. What struck me in our conversation was how much the culture in this building means to him. He talked about the D-line room and the standard that Rod Wright and Frank Okam set every day, and how playing in a defense with no ceiling pushes everyone in the room to be their best. That's the kind of veteran presence you need going into a year like this one.
And then on Monday's show, DE Dylan Horton sat down with us and reminded everyone why this team is special beyond the Xs and Os. Dylan is heading into his fourth year and his first true contract year, and for the first time since he was drafted out of TCU in 2023, he's had a full, healthy offseason. His rookie year was cut short by a Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis. His second year was about getting back on the field. Last year was his first real season, and he made the most of it as a rotational contributor behind Will and Danielle.
"I feel like we just had this time to get closer together as a team, have that opportunity to work out together," Horton said of this offseason. "Everybody who was up here put some sweat in, some good workouts, understand the playbook a little bit more."
What gets me about Dylan is the combination of who he is off the field and what he becomes on it. He is one of the sweetest, most soft-spoken people in this building. And then the ball snaps and he's a completely different human being. His dad taught him early to flip the switch, and when I asked him about it, he just smiled and said, "Whenever the ball snaps, the game time is here, it's time to go play."
I asked him about sharing his lymphoma story with people who are going through the same thing, and his answer was immediate.
"If I have any opportunity to spread my story, to spread any kind of positivity or just awareness itself to lymphoma, to blood cancer, I will gladly," Horton said. "It's a blessing to be able to be in this position."
Five different players, five completely different paths to get here. A kid from West Africa who didn't know what a football was. A walk-on with zero offers. A Canadian who bought his own Jugs machine. An undrafted grinder who's been to five NFL cities. And a young man who beat cancer and is now chasing a contract year with everything he's got. That's what this roster is made of. And we haven't even gotten to training camp yet.
Make sure to catch all of these conversations and more on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We'll be live July 29 from the Houston Methodist Training Center. Can't wait.