Andre Johnson gives young Texans receivers something he never had

Andre Johnson’s rookie year was a long, long time ago, but he still remembers his very first practice when he was thrown into a role as a starting receiver.

The first-team offense huddled. Johnson stood and watched them.

“I was just standing around looking,” Johnson said. “Coach Kippy Brown looked at me and I was like what the hell are you doing? Get in there.

“I really didn’t have a veteran guy to look up to when I first got here. It was kind of tough at first. You have to learn a lot of things on your own. I was able to see veteran guys during the offseason and talk to them a little bit. Talk to guys I played with.”

The four-time All-Pro selection did just fine on his own, but he’s able to pass along some of what he learned to the gaggle of young receivers on the Texans’ roster. That means their transition will be easier than his was.

He feels comfortable letting them know when they mess up.

“I think when you tell people the truth, I think they respect you for it,” Johnson said. “I don’t have a problem with them telling me the truth just because they’re a rookie. I tell them that if you see me doing something wrong, tell me. I want to know because I want to get better as a player. I think that’s the only way you get better. I think that if you don’t tell them the truth and if you tell them they’re doing something good and they’re really not, then they’re not going to get better as player. That’s one thing we do around here. We tell each other the truth about what’s going on.”


(chron.com)