Here’s everything Houston Texans Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins said following OTA practice on Tuesday, including the reason as to why he inked a new deal with the Texans, plus his thoughts on the offense and growth of wideout Jayden Higgins.
Question: On what it means to him to have the Texans invest in him
Nico Collins: “It means a lot. It’s a blessing, especially being in this league. To be able to get the third contract with one team, that means a lot. It doesn’t happen often coming across this league. But it’s definitely a blessing. It’s underrated. I can’t speak more highly about it. But I’m definitely thankful to the organization, the Texans, for giving me this opportunity to come out here another year, another two years to go out here and show myself and show my abilities. I’m blessed for that.”
Q: On the wide receiver room this year
Collins: “We’ve got a lot of playmakers in the wide receiver room, especially with the draft class. We’ve got a lot. I feel like everybody has play making abilities. Everybody can make plays, no matter who it is. I feel like that’s the beauty of it. Right now, we’re in OTAs so we’re chopping the wood, getting better every single day. This is where the hard part begins. Got to get into the play books, get the reps. So everybody is just having fun, but I’m excited about this year and the whole receiver room.”
Q: On why it meant so much to stay in the city of Houston
Collins: “Yes, sir. No doubt, it means a lot. I love the city. I love the people. I love my teammates. There’s so much behind this extension. It’s a blessing. I’m really grateful and honored for this opportunity to get what I got, to be here for another two years for the city and my teammates. It doesn’t get better. There’s no other place I’d rather be than here. I’ve got to do my part now, continue to be myself, continue to put on for the city and just have fun with it. Just continue to keep a smile on my face.”
Q: On playing with QB C.J. Stroud
Collins: “It’s a blessing. C.J., he’s one of a kind. He’s a leader. He’s poised and he’s ready to lead every single day. You see it in the meeting room and on the practice field. He’s coming in with a mission and a chip on his shoulder, and there’s no better way… That’s who you want as a quarterback. You’ve got his back 100 percent of the way and he knows that. He’s going to ride for you. That’s how it is with everybody. He’s QB1. You’ve got to take care of him. You’ve got to love him. That’s how it is. I can’t wait for this year. Can’t wait for this season for everybody. I feel like there’s so much at stake. The sky’s the limit for both sides of the ball and I can’t wait for this season to get rolling.”
Q: On the improvement of pre-snap execution on offense this year
Collins: “Yeah, I feel like it’s really just getting the play call, getting in the huddle, hear it, and running out of the huddle, getting lined up and seeing where the defense is. That’s pretty much the pre-snap situation. As an offense you want to hurry up because the play clock is going and you’ve got 25 seconds and it’s clicking by the time they roll it in. By the time you get to play, it’s about 15 seconds. That’s the pre-snap urgency we need. Go out, get lined up, see what the defense is in, wide outs, see who the safeties are, if you’re hot or not, communicate that with C.J., the quarterback. A lot goes on before you say hike, before you call snap. I feel like that’s things we’re working on now in OTAs and two-minute, just hurry-up offense so on Sundays we’re not thinking about it. If we say we want to change the play, put you on this route, it’s natural. That’s why we’re here and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Q: On if he’s put any thought into using a guardian cap
Collins: “For sure, I’ve thought about it. A lot goes into your brain. You only get one. You’ve got to take care of it. It’s definitely a thought, but I feel like for me I’ve got to work on my spinal cord, my neck, and just work on the strengthening of my shoulders and everything around it. I can’t wear a Guardian Cap. I’m a receiver. I’ve got to find the ball, track it and everything. I’ve got to do a better job of doing shoulders, upper body exercises, whatever I need to make sure contacts, I’m good. I’m not worried about that.”
Q: On WR Jayden Higgins and WR Jaylin Noel
Collins: “They come in every day ready to work. They’re in the building early and they’re leaving late. They work after in the meeting rooms. They’re taking notes and it’s translating from the meeting room to the football field. I feel like that’s what makes everybody great. We all feed off each other’s energy and just continue to chop wood every single day, not getting comfortable, finding that one percent. I feel like you need that in order to grow in this league.”
Q: On his contract restructure
Collins: “You want to set your family up for the long term. We know in this business, it’s a business at the end of the day. It’s definitely something that you work hard for. You come into this league to get extended, get contracts. It’s definitely a blessing. It’s definitely motivation for me and this team to continue to chop wood, continue to keep going. But at the end of the day, I’m definitely blessed for that. A lot of people don’t get that first, second contract, or third contract. It’s definitely rare, definitely a blessing. It’s definitely a great situation for me and my family long-term. I’ve just got to continue to be myself, not making the decision bigger than what it is. It’s a blessing for sure, and I’ve got to use that as motivation.”
Q: On CB Derek Stingley Jr. this offseason
Collins: “Same guy, poised, calm, collected, playmaker. You see #24 out on the boundary, you know what time it is. You’ve got to come with it. He deserves everything that comes to him. His work ethic every day in the meeting room, on the field, everything you see is what it is. Everything makes sense. Going against him every single day, him and Kamari [Lassiter], [Jalen] Pitre, Calen [Bullock], it’s turned the whole secondary… You’ve got no choice but to get better every single day you step on that field, so it’s definitely a blessing to line up against those guys every day.”
Q: On WR Tank Dell
Collins: “That’s my dawg, Tank You don’t want to see one of your brothers go down, especially with a freak injury like he did. But to see him coming back, progressing, getting his groove back slowly is definitely a blessing to see. You don’t want to see nobody get hurt. He loves this game 1,000 percent. You know he wants to be out there with us. It’s only right to be there with him in his corner, continue to root him up, continue to push him, tell him he got it, keep his spirits up, because that’s what you need at the end of the day. He’s your brother right beside you and I want to show him that he’s got me, he’s got this whole team to get him through his whole process so he can get back on that field like he used to. That’s the whole goal at the end of the day.”
Q: On the offense as a whole
Collins: “It’s another year, another opportunity for the offense to go out and just be us. Anything I feel like we need to improve on from last year, it’s a great opportunity to do it now, OTAs, minicamp, and progression on that. That’s the start now. I can’t wait for this offense and the season to get rolling so we can go in and showcase what we can do.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans Pro Bowl WR Nico Collins said after OTA practice
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
