Houston (CBS HOUSTON) — Despite being a first-round pick at a high-profile position, new Texan Will Fuller wasn’t about to come swaggering into NRG Stadium.
“I’m soft spoken, so I’m not going to say too much,” Fuller said at Friday’s introductory press conference. “I’m just looking forward to working with this team and becoming the best player I can be. And eventually, you know, winning games for us. I’m not going to say too much.”
His old Philadelphia area buddy and fellow Texan Jaelen Strong was smiling from the back of the makeshift conference room in the pressbox. He’s seen that humility from Fuller before.
“Will’s very modest,” Strong said. “It’s pretty obvious. But he’s a baller, and I’m real excited.”
The Texans hope they’re getting said “baller” opposite DeAndre Hopkins to further jumpstart its passing game, with Fuller a threat to take the top of a defense catching deep throws from the strong-armed Brock Osweiler.
First, though, the Texans just want Fuller to “blend in” to the fabric of an organization that has a decent track record with first-round picks in recent seasons.
“If he does that, I told him today we’re not asking him to be anything other than that which he is,” general manager Rick Smith said. “So if he does that, if he is who he is, then that’s enough for us. I think he’ll help our team. I talked last night about his explosiveness and his speed and how that impacts our offense. And that’s what we’re looking for.”
“Our expectations for Will are obviously high,” head coach Bill O’Brien added.
O’Brien and Fuller are plenty familiar with each other. Other than the months of studying Fuller’s game, O’Brien recruited the wideout to Penn State in 2012 and secured a commitment before the Philly native decided to attend Notre Dame instead.
“I’m feeling great,” Fuller said. “There is no other way to explain that. Being in the situation I’m in, with Coach (Bill) O’Brien, and just knowing him from high school recruitment. I’m comfortable with him already.”
O’Brien was a bit more verbose in his memory of Fuller’s recruitment. “Forgive and forget,” he quipped, remembering a summer camp at Penn State when the deep threat awed with his speed.
“He jumped out of the car and Fitzy (Craig Fitzgerald), our strength coach at the time who is here with us now, said ‘Hey, get on the starting line and run your 40.’ I think he ran a 4.3 right out of the car driving from three and a half hours away, so we knew he could run,” O’Brien said. “We said this would be a guy that we would like to have in our program.”
“Coach O’Brien was always straightforward, especially when I was in high school,” Fuller remembered. “He wanted me to run routes, just the way he wanted me to run them. When he gave me the scholarship offer, everything was straight forward and I really appreciate that from him.”
So Friday’s press conference was all about clear and obvious expectations. The Texans want him to “put his head down and get to work,” as Smith said. They also want a playmaker. Given what O’Brien and company know about him, they’re confident they’re already getting that kind of person and player.
But if Fuller needs a nudge in the right direction? O’Brien pointed him to their All-Pro receiver.
“We’ve got a very good core group of leaders, veteran leaders in our locker room that are going to really welcome Will,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot of great guys in there to learn from, namely (WR) DeAndre Hopkins at that position. So, we feel really good about the position and we just want Will to come in here and do what he did at Notre Dame, work hard every day, try to get better, and be a great teammate.”
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