Everything Texans CB Kamari Lassiter said after Day 5 of training camp

Here is everything Houston Texans Pro Bowl cornerback Kamari Lassiter said after the first day of training camp in pads on Monday, including center Keylan Rutledge’s physicality in practice, safety Reed Blankenship, the Texans bringing back defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and how quarterback C.J. Stroud is commanding the offense more than last season.

Question: On whether he is seeing competitiveness with offense during practice

Kamari Lassiter: “I feel like just being here it’s going to be competitive. Any day we step on that field, they want to win, we want to win. Being out here, being in pads, being able to play real football, it feels great. Everyone’s got the energy flowing. Everyone wants to win, so it’s a great feeling.”

Q: On taking it one day at a time during training camp

Lassiter: “You just have to realize that it’s a marathon. It’s a long season. Training camp is the beginning, but every day you want to get better. If we have a common goal and we’re all trying to reach that goal, you take each and every day with a sense of gratitude and you attack it like you don’t have the next one.”

Q: On C/G Keylan Rutledge getting physical in practice

Lassiter: “Yeah, I love it. It’s football. There’s a lot of aggression that comes with football, so him playing with just that kind of style, it doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t think it bothers anyone on the defense or on the offense, really. It’s just we all have the same mentality of, ‘you’re not going to one-up me. You’re not going to outdo me on the football field.’ It’s just competition and we love it.”

Q: On how much of a factor S Reed Blankenship adds to the defense

Lassiter: “Any time you can add a really good football player to your team, it’s great. Reed is a good football player. He came in and he meshes really well with us. He plays with confidence. He plays fast. He plays physical. He’s just like one of us. We get along really well. We communicate really well. It’s going to be real fun this year.”

Q: On what he sees from CB Jaylin Smith

Lassiter: “‘Roc’ is different. I tell him that every single day. ‘Roc’ is so different. Y’all are going to finally get to be able to see him be his true self and be able to play freely and make plays out there. I can’t wait to see him get on the field. He’s special.”

Q: On what is different about him this season

Lassiter: “I’ll just say what’s different about me is the way that I’m attacking it. I’m trying to attack it from a smarter standpoint. I have the mentality. I just want to be able to become a smarter football player, understand what’s coming before it comes, understand the nuances of defenses, understand the nuances of offenses and just try and get better with the mental side of the game.”

Q: On whether he notices a difference between WR Jayden Higgins compared to last season

Lassiter: “It’s just like all of us, he just continues to get better. Every day you can tell that he’s adding something to his bag, whether it’s route running or whether it’s precision. He’s playing with confidence. He’s out there catching every ball that comes his way. He’s a really good player; he’s always been a really good player. He’s only going to continue to go up and up.”

Q: On his comfort level of playing with S Calen Bullock for the third year

Lassiter: “It’s literally like playing ball with my brother. I don’t even have to talk to him on the field. Most of the time we don’t talk, we just look and then we’re going about our business because I already know. Playing with him is just such a joy. We’ve been in this system for going on three years now. It’s almost like second nature. We’re just out there riding bicycles.”

Q: On the reports of DE Jadeveon Clowney joining the team, and how he would fit in the defense

Lassiter: “I think he fits perfectly. I feel like he has that same mentality that we have on the defense and I’m excited.”

Q: On what he has noticed about QB C.J. Stroud this season compared to last season

Lassiter: “I feel like C.J. is definitely commanding more from the offense as a whole. I feel like every year I’ve seen him, he’s always commanded a lot but this year I feel like he’s putting more of that weight on his shoulders. I feel like it’s really good. I feel like he’s taking everything with a sense of intentionality, a lot of urgency and it’s good to see. He’s challenging us. He’s making really good throws like he always has, but it’s like you can just tell there’s a little bit more to him, I can just tell.”

Q: On how comfortable he feels wearing No. 3 this season

Lassiter: “I feel great. This is my number. This is really me. I’ve always wanted to be in three. I knew from the moment I got here that there was going to be a time where I got back in my number, and it just feels right.”

Q: On his process of getting excited for practice everyday

Lassiter: “When I wake up, I’m ready. I’m not going to lie. It’s like as soon as I open my eyes, I’m like, ‘All right, let’s do it.'”

Q: On whether he can feel the advantages of keeping the same teammates and coaches on the defense

Lassiter: “Definitely. The years that you put in with each other, you just use that as a competitive advantage. You understand how you’re going to get coached. You understand how coach is coming from or what point he’s coming from and coach understands what you’re seeing out there. It just helps us all grow because we all want to win. As long as we can all get to the same common goal, it just makes it a lot easier.”

Q: On how the defense will try to forget last season’s success and reload for this season

Lassiter: “It’s easy to flush it out. You don’t live off the past. The past doesn’t bring you success in the present or in the future. If you’re living off the past, then you’re getting worse. You either get better or you get worse. If you’re trying to live off past success, then that’s not the way to be great.”

Q: On whether there is a player in the secondary who has been an underrated standout

Lassiter: “Collin [Wright]. Collin, the new rookie in our cornerback room. He’s a really good player. He comes in every day. He’s super talented. He’s really quiet, so you don’t really hear about him a lot. He’s out there making plays day in, day out. Since the spring, he’s made a lot of plays. [Alijah] Huzzie, ‘Steve-O’ [Stephen Hall], ‘J-Mark’ [Ja’Marcus Ingram]. Do you want me just to name the whole secondary? I’m going to name everybody. I just feel like all my guys, they’re just really outstanding players. Everyone doesn’t get the recognition that they should, but there are a lot of guys out there making plays.”

Q: On the first time he realized WR Jayden Higgins had taken another step in his game

Lassiter: “I knew ‘Higg’ was good last year. When he first stepped foot in this door, he was NFL ready. You take the offseason to just work on whatever you feel like you need to work on. Obviously, he’s worked on a lot of things. He’s bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger. He’s running routes the way he wants to. He’s running with precision. He’s running with power. He’s playing with confidence. I feel like it might not be that he’s gotten better. It just might be he’s more comfortable in the system. He’s more confident. I just feel like he’s playing with that confidence.”

Q: On players being leaders in the locker room

Lassiter: “I feel like the best teams are player-led teams. Obviously, the coaches and the staff, they have a standard that they want. They have a common goal, but whenever the players are all bought into the same goal and we’re all leading each other whether it’s individually or by example or vocally, that’s how good teams become great, and that’s how you win championships. I really feel like you coach players, not plays. It’s really on the players.”

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans CB Kamari Lassiter said after Day 5 of training camp