JALEN PITRE: I have a great coaching staff that's teaching me the game, that helped me understand the playbook very fast, and also I have great teammates that lend a helping hand when I need it. So I'm grateful for that.
Q. What is it like playing with Jonathan Owens?
JALEN PITRE: Oh, it's wonderful, JO, he's lit. He's bringing that energy every play, and he's a great teammate to have out there on the field because he's always making sure you know what you're doing and making sure that you're alert with certain plays that's coming. I enjoy being out there with JO.
Q. Do you remember the first thing that Joe Danna told you or what he was expecting from you?
JALEN PITRE: I don't. The one thing I do remember, though, is in our room, it's a thing that right when you walk out the door it says, "I'm good." You should never say, I'm too good for something. You should always working to get better at something and I feel like he brings that every day. Coach Joe has great energy every day and he tries to match the players' intensity, so I love that.
Q. The coaches have been talking about how you're learning. At what point of this training camp are you starting to (indiscernible)?
JALEN PITRE: Yeah, I would say I'm still growing. I'm still understanding the playbook, understanding what offenses like to do in the NFL, and I love the game of football, so I love learning every day, and I feel like I'm doing that.
I'm just continuing to go up. I feel like I haven't really reached any plateau yet. I've got a long way to go.
Q. Does it seem like your game translates at this level? Is it sort of a confidence booster to see the plays you made in college and the plays you've made here?
JALEN PITRE: Yeah, coming in I just wanted to make sure that I was confident from the start. I understand that I don't know what I'm doing fresh off, and I think that when you approach something you've got to start with confidence in order to grasp the material and be able to go out there and make the plays when it's needed. I try to approach everything with a confident mindset, and I think that's helped me.
Q. Some of your teammates have mentioned you in their interviews how impressed they've been with what you've been able to do in camp. What's that respect mean to you, that you're being noticed?
JALEN PITRE: Definitely, it means the world to me. I'm trying to gain those guys' respect and I'm trying to show them that I belong. That's big that they feel like I'm doing a great job, but I want to continue to grow and continue to match their intensity.
Q. You're very vocal when you're out on the field. Grayland said that the day you got drafted, you exchanged pleasantries and then you jumped right into the playbook. Is that why you're so vocal out there, knowing where you need to be and what you need to do?
JALEN PITRE: Definitely. You've got to know what you're doing in order to speak up. I take that very serious, and like I say, I'm always trying to help my teammates out in order for us to get an interception here or get a punch-out there. I'm always trying to do what I can to help out my teammates. Learning the playbook is the start to that, so that's kind of why I asked Grayland initially.
Q. What are the things that have stuck out the most so far about the pro level?
JALEN PITRE: I would say the quarterbacks, their decision making is very good. They're very patient. The offense is doing a great job at giving us different looks and showing a lot of different things, so I enjoy going against them. Just the overall intensity of the defense, every day they come out, they're ready to compete, and that just makes me want to go harder. Just the overall atmosphere of the NFL, it's second to none.
Q. What have you learned from Derek Stingley?
JALEN PITRE: Yeah, Stingley, he's great. He's also a guy that I lean on when talking about different things that the offense is trying to do. I love playing with him, and I love being out there with him. We're always talking about what we're about to get. And I feel like me and him are going to be great together. I love being out there with him.
Q. How eager are you to get into a game situation on Saturday?
JALEN PITRE: Oh, I'm very eager. I love the games. In practice you're not able to hit and drive through a lot of -- finish a lot of plays. It would be great to go out there and compete with my teammates and run to the ball.
Q. Any added pressure as far as playing in front of the hometown crowd?
JALEN PITRE: Yeah, definitely, but not necessarily. I had a lot of people that came to my games at Baylor, and when you're on the field you kind of forget about all that. All you have left is all the studying that you did and the preparation that you put in.
Q. Do you have friends and family coming to watch?
JALEN PITRE: Yes, ma'am, I do, I have a lot.
Q. A lot?
JALEN PITRE: Yes, ma'am.
Q. You and Derek both were coached by Dave Aranda at some point in your careers. What do you remember about that?
JALEN PITRE: Just being intensive in meetings. Coach Aranda is a smart coach, very aware coach, and he's always looking to get better and always thinking about the next step. I see that in Stingley and I try to take after that with Aranda, as well. He was a great coach and I'm happy that I got to play for him.
Q. How do you connect with Lovie? How are you guys connecting?
JALEN PITRE: We're connecting well. Coach Lovie is great. He's a very energetic guy, very funny. He has some jokes here and there. But he's also very serious. He wants us to get turnovers and he wants us to run to the ball. I'm trying to do that, and I'm trying to bring that whenever I'm out there on the field.
Q. Do you feel like there's any pressure on this rookie class to help rebuild this franchise, and what have you seen from Dameon Pierce?
JALEN PITRE: No pressure, no, sir. We're all here, everybody is here to do a job, and I think that we all understand that. Dameon Pierce, if you're in his way he's going to run you over. That's the one tidbit I can give about him.
Q. And then are you going to hear about it afterwards?
JALEN PITRE: Definitely going to hear about it afterwards, and I love it.
Q. Do you ever just take a moment to realize everything you've gone through from being a senior at Baylor to being a draft pick to now starting on an NFL team?
JALEN PITRE: Definitely. You know, I thank God for putting me here and allowing me to do the things that I'm able to do. I would have never guessed that he would have put me here in Houston to play in front of my home city. It's very wonderful that he chose me, and I'm very thankful for it.
Q. At Baylor you played a lot (indiscernible). Here you do a lot more free safety (indiscernible).
JALEN PITRE: Yeah, it's a lot more patience. You are the last line of defense, so you can't be as aggressive, but it's still football. I still understand that I'm a piece of the defense and I need to do my job. Every time I'm out there I'm trying to do that.
Q. Where does your consistency stem from? Where did you learn that?
JALEN PITRE: Just in college. I understood that -- I played a lot but I wasn't as consistent, and it led to me seeing a lot of dips in my game production. Every day I come out here I try to bring the same energy and the same production in order to see the results that I want to see.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports