Jalen Pitre 'Loves Playing' With Jimmie Ward in Texans Defense
Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre burst on the scene in his debut season, finishing the year as a defensive rookie of the year candidate.
Now, he is looking into year two of his career, with hopes that he can take a big step forward, into Pro Bowl and All-Pro consideration.
But given his youth, surrounding a talent like Pitre's with veteran leadership can pay major dividends. And that is exactly what the Texans did this offseason by signing safety, Jimmie Ward.
“A great tandem,” Pitre said of him and Ward. “When I can go out there and play with somebody that’s that good and plays with his hair on fire – a guy that wants to hit."
Like Pitre showed in his rookie season, he is a big fan of contact - something that Ward was known for during his days in San Francisco under DeMeco Ryans.
And that is exactly the kind of mentality that Pitre wants to bring to the Texans' secondary in 2023.
"I love guys that don’t shy away from contact," Pitre said. "Things like that are inspiring to me because I’m always trying to push him, and he’s always trying to push me. It’s always growth in that. I’m blessed to be able to play with him.”
Now, the pair of hard hitters are united in Houston under the tutelage of Ryans, and looking to strike lead by example for the rest of the defense.
“It’s all about running to the ball and being mean when you get there,” Pitre said. “I think Coach DeMeco [Ryans] preaches that. He wants us all to be aggressive, so I’m going to continue to do that, continue to try to be the first one to the ball.”
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