Texans’ Williams Has Spring in His Step - New York Times
Mario Williams begins preparations for his second season as a Houston Texan with a wide smile and a spring in his step.
No longer dogged by the constant questions about being the No. 1 pick and healthy for the first time in months, Williams, a hulking defensive end, looks like a new man.
Williams started each game last season and finished with 47 tackles and 4.5 sacks, but was slowed for much of the year by plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
On top of dealing with the injury, there were endless questions. Fans booed when the Texans passed on Reggie Bush and Vince Young to draft Williams No. 1 over all last year, and criticism of the pick only intensified as the Texans sputtered to another losing season as Bush helped the New Orleans Saints reach the playoffs.
Williams always claimed to ignore what was said about him, but he would become annoyed and clam up each time those questions came.
After the first day of Houston’s minicamp last Wednesday he was much more relaxed.
“The time off helped me big time,” he said. “I feel a whole lot better now. That other stuff, I’m not worried about that.”
The pain of Williams’s foot problem was so intense at times last season he was often seen limping around the facilities in the days leading up to games.
“I don’t think people really understood how much he sacrificed by playing with the injury,” General Manager Rick Smith said. “But he knew how important it was for our football team that he be out there and he did that.”
It was that gutsy work ethic that gained him the respect of teammates. With a year of experience, he is hoping to build on that respect and improve to a level that will help him become a leader on the defense.
“Yeah, I want to lead, but I’m pretty quiet,” he said. “So what I want to do is basically just go out and play ball and just let my play speak for itself.”
Smith said he believed Williams would benefit from the addition of 19-year-old defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, whom Houston chose with the 10th pick in this year’s draft. Okoye played at Louisville.
“I think Amobi Okoye is going to help him,” Smith said. “I think the two of those guys are going to grow together as young men and young players in this league. I think he’s excited about that.”
Williams, who lobbied for the Texans to draft Okoye, has already taken him under his wing.