‘A great experience,’ LSU running back Josh Williams, several others work out for Texans at annual local prospect day

HOUSTON – Arriving at dawn at the Texans’ training facility, LSU running back Josh Williams couldn’t wait to get started at the defending AFC South champions’ annual local prospect day.

It was roughly 5:45 a.m., and The Kinkaid School graduate was up early for a full day that started with breakfast followed by meetings, tests, drills, a talk with coach DeMeco Ryans, general manager Nick Caserio and running backs coach Danny Barrett.

Williams would love to play for the Texans. He also worked out for the New Orleans Saints at their local prospect day following an eye-catching Pro Day in Baton Rouge. Williams, a 5-foot-8, 196-poujnd former walk-on who earned a scholarship, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds with a 42-inch vertical leap, a 10-2 broad jump and 23 reps in the bench press.

“It was a great experience,” Williams told KPRC 2 in a telephone interview. “I could see myself playing for the Houston Texans. It would be an excellent opportunity for me, potentially. I would love to play for my hometown team.”

Williams rushed for 428 yards and six touchdowns last season and caught 31 passes for 263 yards.

He rushed for 1,494 career yards and 17 touchdowns and caught 71 passes for 600 yards and one score.

“They would get a hard worker, somebody with a chip on his shoulder, someone with something to prove who puts in the necessary work to make it to the next level. I’ve always been a leader, never a follower. I have great character.”

The Texans hosted multiple players at their local prospect day, including Williams, Northwestern tight end Thomas Gordon (Strake Jesuit), Texas A&M linebacker Solomon Deshields, Texas A&M corner B.J. Mayes (The Heights), Texas linebacker David Gbenda (Cinco Ranch), South Carolina wide receiver Dalevon Campbell (Fort Bend Marshall), Rice cornerback Sean Fresch, Rice edge Josh Pearcy, University of Houston quarterback Donovan Smith, kicker Jack Martin, defensive end Keith Cooper and defensive back A’Jani Carter, Kentucky defensive back Zion Childress (New Caney), Sam Houston State wide receiver Ife Adeyi, Texas offensive guard Hayden Conner (Katy Taylor), Rice offensive lineman Brant Banks (Westbury Christian), Texas A&M wide receiver Jahdae Walker and Aggies tight end Tre Watson, Alabama-Birmingham linebacker Michael Moore (Pearland), Hawaii defensive back Cam Stone (Angleton), TCU tight end Drake Dabney (Cypress Ranch) and Missouri linebacker Corey Flagg (North Shore) and Oregon corner Kam ‘Speedy’ Alexander (Manvel).

Smith, the son of Indianapolis Colts running backs coach DeAndre Smith, also participated in their local prospect day.

Smith has made a full recovery from shoulder surgery, which impacted his performance last season. The Texas Tech transfer, once graded as a potential third-round draft target was limited to five starts and went 1-4 as a starter with 867 passing yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions with three rushing touchdowns.

The previous year, Smith passed for 2,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with six touchdown runs. The Las Vegas native has excellent size at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds.

Martin made the game-winning field goal against Utah last season, connecting on 8 of 10 field goals. He hasn’t missed an extra point the past two seasons.

Conner, a Joe Moore award finalist, has played guard and center and has run the 40-yard dash in 5.18 seconds at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds.

Campbell also attended the Carolina Panthers’ local prospect day. At 6-3, 220, he has 4.34 speed

A two-time all Mountain West Conference honorable mention at Nevada, he had 12 catches for 312 yards and averaged 26 yards per catch for the Gamecocks before suffering an injury.

A former Illinois player, Campbell had 88 career receptions for 1,471 yards for an average of 16.7 yards per catch.

Gbenda bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.60 seconds. He has 89 career tackles, 10 1/2 for losses, 3 1/2 sacks and two interceptions.

Fresch has special-teams skills as a returner. At the Owls’ Pro Day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds.

Gordon, who played for San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak in high school, is a 6-foot-5, 255-pound combo tight end who caught a career-high 27 passes for 252 yards with one touchdown last season.

Gordon met extensively with tight ends coach Jake Moreland.

“We got to talk about my film for a long time,” Gordon said. “I’m pretty fired up. It was cool being a hometown kid. Being there was awesome. It seems like there is definitely some interest.”

He also participated in the Chicago Bears’ local prospect day. He was an all-district selection who caught 104 career passes for 1,550 yards and 20 touchdowns.

“Klay is still kind of a mentor for me,” Gordon said. “I grew up in the game with him and got to pick his brain. It helped my football skills.”

Moore led his defense last season with 92 tackles and two interceptions.

A North Shore graduate, Carter tied for third on the team with three pass breakups.

Walker, who also has a private workout with the Cleveland Browns, caught 29 passes for 345 yards last season. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at the Aggies’ Pro Day.

Stone intercepted five career passes and was an all-conference selection.

Mayes finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference with four interceptions and first on the Aggies’ defense.

He has a top 30 visit with the Colts, per a league source.

Childress, a two-time team captain who transferred from Texas State, was an all-state selection at New Caney and the Montgomery County Player of the Year. He played quarterback and wide receiver and rushed for nearly 3,000 yards. He passed for 21 touchdowns as a senior.

Childress was an All-Southeastern Conference honorable-mention selection who finished with 283 career tackles, with 12 tackles for losses, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

As a senior, Childress had 55 tackles, six for losses, one sack and one forced fumble.

Adeyi is one of the fastest wide receivers with a time of 4.35 seconds officially and an unofficial time of 4.28 seconds.

At his Pro Day, Adeyi bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times and had a 40 1/2 inch vertical leap with an 11-1 broad jump.

He caught the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the FBS national championship game.

Dabney is a former honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection.

Banks is a 6-7, 315-pound Nebraska transfer.

Watson is a 6-5, 250-pound Fresno State transfer.

Flagg, a University of Miami transfer, recorded 260 career tackles, 29 for losses, 6 1/2 sacks and two interceptions. At Miami, he had 179 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks with one interception. At North Shore, Flagg played for Jon Kay and won two state championships. He was named the defensive Most Valuable Player of the 2019 state championship game.

Alexander (Manvel) (4.48 speed, 41.5 vertical, 11-1 broad jump, jumps would have been second best at #NFLCombine at position, 4.15 short shuttle, 6.75 3-cone drill), had one interception last season for the Ducks. Was an all-conference selection at UTSA before transferring, previously all-district selection was at Sam Houston State.

Gordon hopes that he’ll be back at NRG Stadium one day, as a part of the roster.

“It’s definitely a place I would love to be,” Gordon said. “They’ll get a player who will show up and work hard every day, a player who can block, catch, run routes and be reliable overall.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com