HOUSTON – Hunched over the football, Jake Andrews scanned the defense as quarterback C.J. Stroud barked out his cadence at the line of scrimmage.
Andrews snapped the football smoothly and fired into his blocking stance as he walled off pass rushers to provide Stroud enough time to fire off a spiral for a first down.
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A former New England Patriots fourth-round draft pick from Troy University who was acquired off waivers from the Texans in the spring, Andrews is competing for a starting job and has seen the majority of the work with the first-team offense. His primary competitor is incumbent Jarrett Patterson.
Healthy again after missing last season with a torn meniscus in his knee, Andrews has had his moments early in training camp while getting acclimated to a new offense led by offensive coordinator Nick Caley. The offensive line has been overhauled, and Andrews is an important part of changes intended to upgrade protection for Stroud and establish the run.
“I can’t speak for everybody, but I think we would all agree that we all have a lot of work to do,” Andrews told KPRC 2. “There’s competition around every position. There’s always competition, and I think that makes it fun. Speaking for myself on that, if I’m getting better, somebody else is probably benefiting from that and vice versa, too. So, it’s about being the best football player I can be for the Houston Texans right now."
Andrews, 25, is a former All-Sun Belt Conference selection. He has played in 16 career games with one start in the NFL.
When he was in college, he played one season for Cole Popovich, his position coach and the Texans’ run game coordinator. Popovich is a former New England offensive line coach, but he didn’t overlap with Andrews with the Patriots.
Andrews and Popovich have built a strong relationship, and reuniting in Houston has been fun.
“I don’t want to say comfortable, but it’s a friendly face,” Andrews said. “So, I’m excited to be back with him. Obviously, a good coach and mentor for me. So, I’m just really excited about having a familiar face.”
From Popovich’s standpoint, he’s enjoying his interaction with all of the center candidates, including Andrews, Patterson and Juice Scruggs.
“There’s a relationship there, but I’ve also been here for two years with JP and Juice, and I think all those guys have been working really, really hard,” Popovich said. “I think they’re all really intelligent guys, can get us to the right spots. And just happy to work with all three of those guys."
Popovich is a former protege of legendary retired Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarneccia. His influence is being felt to this day in Houston as he uses his mentor’s teachings and applies them to the Texans’ fundamentals and techniques.
“Scar is obviously one of the best offensive line coaches that’s ever been, and he’s got his philosophy and he’s always stuck to it,” Andrews said. “Pop has done a good job of embracing that. Scar was a mentor for Pop, amongst others. And we have a lot of the same sayings, we talk the same way. Of course, everything evolves and everything’s a little bit different.
“The main thing is still the main thing. On that aspect, I think Pop is a really good leader and a really good learner and I thinks he’s just done a good job of embracing all that because he had so much time with Scar and other people and he’s just probably you know he’s taking a little bit of everything from everywhere he’s with and he is doing a great job.”
Andrews (6-foot-3, 305 pounds has run the 40-yard dash in 5.15 seconds and bench pressed 225 pounds 29 times.
Those qualities as well as his knowledge of the game and a blue-collar work ethic are serving him well so far in Houston.
“Just a good worker,” Andrews said. “I’m gonna be out here practicing doing whatever I’m asked to do every day.”
Lining up next to left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Tytus Howard every day, Andrews has made a positive first impression on his new teammates. Howard and Andrews are both Alabama natives who stayed home for college.
“Jake’s a great dude,” Howard said. “He’s from Alabama and I’m from Alabama so we’ve got a lot in common. He played at Troy, and I played at Alabama State, which is like 25 minutes away from each other. He’s a smart kid.
“He knows the game. He knows his offense really good. He’s very fast with all the calls. He’s just a great teammate. He works hard every day. Nothing but good things about him.”
While playing for the Patriots, Andrews worked his way through an extensive rehab process for his knee. It took time to get back to full strength. Ultimately, the Patriots moved on in the spring and the Texans moved fast to acquire Andrews.
“A little bit of adversity, obviously,” Andrews said. “I think everybody goes through that as a rookie. If you’re playing in the trenches as a rookie, you’re just trying to make it through. It doesn’t matter what happens, you try to make it through.
“And then having spent a whole season on IR, that adds a little adversity. And I learned what that was like and I learned that process and stuff like that. And so I have a little, I don’t like to say a chip on my shoulder, but something, just from having a year off and having to watch.”
Andrews is well aware of the Texans’ recent history and reputation as a blocking operation. A year ago, the Texans allowed Stroud to be sacked 52 times during the regular season. He was sacked eight times and hit 14 times overall in a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s a hungry group across the line with a lot of spots up for grabs, and just two returning starters in right guard Tytus Howard, right tackle Blake Fisher and Patterson. Popovich said it will take some time to decide who’s starting.
The offensive line was recently ranked 32nd in NFL by Pro Football Focus analytics. That assessment and other negativity is hard to ignore, but the offensive line is determine to prove themselves collectively and not be distracted by what people are saying.
“I’m gonna speak for myself, but blocking out the noise is something that we’ve started to talk about a little bit,” Andrews said. “The people that understand what’s going on and people that are in that building every day, no offense to anybody else, everybody’s got their opinions. We’re all gonna come to work today and try to make the Houston Texans a better team, a better organization.
“I think we’re going to do that in good faith and work our butts off. There’s opinions out there and we’re human, so we hear some of them, probably more than we’d like to. I think the chip on everybody’s shoulder, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I can feel it in the room being new here. And I’m embracing it with the guys and it’s all of our jobs to play like that."
Playing with Stroud, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has been a lot of fun for Andrews. They’re building their timing and communication.
“It’s awesome,” Andrews said. “Obviously, he was a top-five pick a couple years ago, the same year I came out. Ohio State, really good teams back then, too. So, it’s really awesome to see guys like that, that you always feel like you always see on TV and you maybe see him across the sidelines, but you never really get a relationship with him. So, it is nice to start building that with him, he is a great guy, great leader and I am really excited to continue working with him.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
