49ers QB Brock Purdy's Lesson For Texans Coach DeMeco Ryans? 'Experience Is The Best Teacher'
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans will likely start a rookie quarterback come Week 1 of the 2023 campaign, especially if the prospect is either C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young.
Some regimes do not believe in starting a rookie quarterback right out of the gates. But Texans coach DeMeco Ryans believes experience is the best teacher when it comes to helping a prospect reach their potential on the NFL level.
It's a philosophy Ryans developed as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, after watching rookie quarterback Brock Purdy lead the team to the NFC Championship title game last season.
"I think experience is the best teacher, and that’s what you saw from Brock last year," Ryans said. "That’s what I tell guys, 'the game doesn’t change as much.' Guys get a little better around you, but the game doesn’t change much, and Brock had that confidence about him because he had been through a lot of situations. He’s played a lot of ball."
In the seven games Purdy started before losing in the conference championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles, he threw for an average of 234.8 yards, 14 touchdowns, and two interceptions.
He went 7-1 in the eight games he started in place of Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. But due to Purdy's success, he could be on the verge of taking the helm as San Francisco's primary starter.
Deshaun Watson and Davis Mills served as the previous two rookie quarterbacks who played for the Texans but were not named a Week 1 starter, respectively.
With the Carolina Panthers linked to Stroud, it is looking more likely that Young will take the helm as Houston's starter come mid-September. The sooner the Texans can place Young on the field, the quicker the Alabama prospect can reach his potential as a future franchise quarterback.
"It’s about having a special work ethic at that position that sets you apart from everyone else," Ryans said. "He [Young] can put the work in, he has the experience, but also what is he doing behind the scenes when everyone else is in the locker room getting ready to go, he’s still out there on the field working."
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