The Texans’ rotation at left guard took another spin Sunday.
Although former Pro Bowl blocker Laken Tomlinson started the game, Juice Scruggs played the majority of the snaps. He lined up for 57 snaps, 80 percent of the playing time, during a 26-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Tomlinson played 14 snaps overall.
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Scruggs had a 49.3 overall blocking grade and a 66.2 pass blocking grade. Tomlinson had a 69.2 overall blocking grade and a 79.7 pass blocking grade.
“I’m gonna be ready for whatever,” Scruggs said Monday. “Whatever they want to do. I just got to go out there when my number is called and perform. I’ll say it’s harder just not rotating. Rotating is easy when you know you’re about to get in. I don’t think it’s hard."
A former second-round draft pick from Penn State, Scruggs started 13 games last season and has 19 career starts.
“Juice has done a nice job with the reps that he’s taken,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We can all get better up front. Collectively, we still have improvements to make. It’s when we’re on blocks, you’re staying attached, finishing blocks better. We can all improve in that area and get better. I thought Juice did a good job.”
Scruggs has previously started at center, left guard and right guard for the Texans.
While the second-round draft pick was in college, Scruggs was involved in a serious car accident.
Scruggs fractured his L3 vertebrae and suffered a concussion. He was in a back brace for eight months and missed the entire season. He battled his way back and got back on the field against Maryland in 2020, nearly two years after the crash and appeared in seven games as a reserve. By 2021, Scruggs was a 13-game starter and an honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection.
Selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl all-star game, Scruggs was acquired after the Texans traded back into the second round to select him 62nd overall following a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles as they sent them their 65th, 188th and 230th overall selections to acquire Scruggs.
Officially named Frederick Henry, Scruggs got his nickname as a child who didn’t like to drink milk. Born in Ashtabula, Ohio before attending high school at Cathedral Prep in Erie, Pennsylvania, Scruggs emerged as a blue-chip recruit and state Lineman of the Year who chose the Nittany Lions over LSU, Ohio State and Michigan
The Texans chose him to upgrade the center position, but he wound up at guard. Although Scruggs, a team captain and third-team All-Big Ten Conference selection has played guard, the Texans viewed him more as a center. The Texans drafted Scruggs after two centers were selected ahead of Scruggs with the New York Jets picking Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann and the New York Giants selected Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz.
The Texans’ offense got into a flow against the Titans with three fourth-quarter touchdowns: two by running back Woody Marks and one by wide receiver Jayden Higgins.
“I just think we just found a rhythm,’ Scruggs said. ”We just kept going, kept the red game going. And finally started to break out a little bit. It started to show a little. Holes are opening up. I just we just got to find our identity. And I think we started to find that."
One year after an embarrassing 31-2 Christmas loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Texans face them again on the road Sunday. M&T Bank Stadium is the site of the Texans’ AFC divisional round playoff loss two seasons ago.
“We definitely remember what happened the last time we played them,” Scruggs said. “So, it’s definitely something on our minds. But we just got to focus, prepare, do whatever we can.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com