(In progress.)
DEMECO RYANS: He's doing well. Progressing day by day. Encouraged where Keegan is.
Q. (Regarding John Metchie.)
DEMECO RYANS: Metchie is doing great. Metchie is working on training camp. Get him back to football. We're right on the correct path with him.
Q. Jadeveon Clowney said he wouldn't mind coming back here. Are you interested in Clowney?
DEMECO RYANS: We always look at any players that can help us win. We'll explore all options. I'll never throw anyone off the table. Everything is an option for me.
Q. How is it with the rookies mixing in with the veterans?
DEMECO RYANS: The rookies have come along well. Guys are flying around. They have a lot of learning to do, but they've picked up on it very well. They're improving each day. That's all I ask of them, take one step every day, one step better.
And those guys, they're doing it. I'm encouraged with all of our rookies. They seem to fit right in.
Q. What do you think of the participation numbers of players here for OTAs?
DEMECO RYANS: For it to be voluntary, we have a good group participating. A lot of guys out. A lot of guys who -- this time period here, it's about how can I improve as a player? The guys that are here, they are honing their craft. They are getting better.
And it's all about setting yourself up to be able to compete to make the team in training camp. So the guys are doing that. I feel like the guys that are here are going to be in great shape to help us out in the fall.
Q. How do Bobby Slowik and Jerrod Johnson approach teaching C.J.?
DEMECO RYANS: They approach it just like everyone else. They take their time. Each player, no matter if you're a quarterback, linebacker, each player in a position group room learns differently.
As a coach, you take your time to get to know that player and get to know how that player learns best. That's how you go about teaching them.
Q. In your conversations with C.J. Stroud since he's been here, is there anything that's impressed you or anything he said that just stuck out to you?
DEMECO RYANS: C.J. has been the same from the predraft process to now. Hard worker, very intelligent guy, and a true competitor. He's been the exact same guy. Nothing has changed.
Excited to see him out on the field working with his teammates. C.J. has been doing an excellent job these past couple days.
Q. Since C.J. -- what's the process toward getting him? The quarterback conversation early in it, what's kind of that process?
DEMECO RYANS: The process with all our players is to come out, improve, and get better each day. When the fall comes, that's when we'll talk about starters and who are the best 11 men to go out there and help us win games.
Q. You talked about Will Anderson. What about the other defensive end start? What do you see at that position? What are you hoping for?
DEMECO RYANS: I'm looking for -- like, again, it's not just defense. It's every position for us. I'm looking for guys who want to compete, guys who want to help us win.
Defensive line, we want guys who are explosive, guys who are physical, guys who can set the edge, guys who can get after the quarterback. That's what we're looking for.
Either side, it doesn't matter which side you play on, that's what we're looking for out of all of our defensive ends.
Q. With two young guys at wide receiver, what does a guy like Robert Woods --
DEMECO RYANS: For Robert, I think he just helps guys. When you're a player and you have those questions that a coach may not be able to get to you right now, get that answer to you as quick as possible, Robert is that guy players can go. You know, ask Robert. Robert has played in this offensive system before. He knows it, knows it just as good as some of our coaches know it.
So Robert is a guy that young players should try to lean on. Young players should try to pick his brain and just learn as much as they can from guys.
That's what veteran leadership is about in the NFL. The real veterans in this league, they pass on knowledge, they pass on information to the younger guys, and those younger guys continue that as they continue to grow throughout the league.
That's why we're here. We stand on the backs of the guys who came before us in this league and allowed us to be in this position.
Q. Do you like Keenum in that role, teaching a young guy -- they're both young guys -- especially Stroud?
DEMECO RYANS: Keenum has been awesome. He has been great to have. Very smart player. Knows it like the back of his hand. So it's really good for those guys to have Case, similar to Robert, right, two very young guys who are sharp guys, not just in a role to help out, but these guys are competing as well.
So that's the cool about having Case and Robert.
Q. What about Cory Littleton have you seen so far out of this group?
DEMECO RYANS: Everybody at the linebacker position, they've been working hard. Guys are improving every day.
Q. Is there any way that you would start -- you need the length for next season. How can you improve on third down struggles?
DEMECO RYANS: I'm not aware of third down struggles. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. Whatever happened here, it doesn't matter. We're starting brand new. We'll create our own path. We'll set our own path.
That's what it's about. It will be about the 2023 Texans. Nothing that happened in the past right now, we're not concerned with that right now.
Q. The hardest thing this offense is getting the offensive line all on one page. Do you agree with that assessment? Could you explain for the fans what the focus of this offensive line, the structure, how they help this offense grow?
DEMECO RYANS: We have a really good offensive line group. Veteran guys mixed in with young guys. Right now expect our O-line to be one of the strengths of our team.
Had really great coaching with our offensive line, with Coach Strausser and Coach Cole. Those guys have done an outstanding job of getting the guys ready to play, being honed in on the details.
Our offensive line, they've been impressive to watch over these few practices that we've had. It's been very impressive to watch and see how they've come along. I'm very excited where they're going.
I would expect them to continue to improve and definitely be a strength for our offense.
Q. Over the last week on defense, Byron Cowart and Jake, talk about those two additions and what they bring.
DEMECO RYANS: Just two new guys that come in and see where they are and what they can do to help us.
Q. Right now since the vanilla-type play calling as far as the offense and defense is concerned, how refreshing is it for you to get out there on the field and actually put eyes I on the guys that are actually going to contribute this coming season?
DEMECO RYANS: It's exciting just to be able to get out on the field. We spend a lot of time in the classroom with these guys to make sure they understand it, make sure they have it. Some guys do well in the classroom, some guys not so well, but it's all about how you perform when you're out on the field.
To see guys in the element, to see that they made a misstep or they made this mistake and they instantly are able to correct it. When you see guys improve, that's what fires me up.
So I'm excited to get out on the field because now we're getting closer to real football, seeing guys in the true element, being able to compete out there in the field. It's been exciting. It's fun for me. I'm trying to put our team in as many competitive situations as possible, offense against defense, just to see how our guys respond to competitive football.
That's what it's going to be. In the fall you've got to line up, you've got to compete, and who's going to step up and win. So it's been fun, a lot of fun for me to get out on the field.
Q. You have a quarterback who from a teaching perspective, C.J. didn't really play that much under center in college. (Regarding San Francisco, Miami, New York.) What's the teaching process to getting a guy to play under center who didn't have much?
DEMECO RYANS: For C.J., under center, it's a matter of just getting reps. Nothing magical about it. It's just getting under center and doing it. C.J. had reps under center in college. It's not foreign to him. He's done it before.
He's done a good job these past few days in practice of understanding, and we haven't had any issues with that. C.J. is doing a great job.
Q. With Derek Stingley and Jalen Pitre, taking them into your defense, you guys led in NFL interceptions last year. Where do they fit into what you all are trying to teach them right now? What is the overall goal with that group?
DEMECO RYANS: Pitre and Stingley, those guys fit any defense because they're both play makers. They're instinctive. They're fast. They're physical, and they love playing football. They like to play with their hair on fire. Any defense we play, anything I call, those guys are make it work because they are such great players and they love playing the game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports