Lovie Smith praised rookie Christian Harris’ effort in NFL debut ‘he hung in there’

The Houston Texans have relied on contributions from several young players this season. With a roster chock-full of first and second-year talent from their loaded draft classes in recent seasons, Houston is in the process of developing competitors that they believe will give them a better chance to win in the next few years.

One rookie whose debut has been highly anticipated was linebacker Christian Harris, who saw his first action of the 2022 season on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Harris was a standout at the University of Alabama before becoming a third-round pick in April’s draft and should add a significant edge to the Texans’ defense.

Head coach Lovie Smith commented on the young stud’s performance after Houston’s loss in Week 7 and seemed to be impressed by what he saw. Asked for his take on Harris’ debut as well as the performances of other up-and-comers on the Texans’ defense, Smith left no doubt that he liked what he saw, though he made it clear that his evaluation of the game’s film would be the determining factor in his final analysis.

“Christian Harris, I mean it’s his first game, I’m sure it was probably your typical first game that a rookie plays, that hadn’t had any reps in a game,” He said. “I thought he hung in there for the most part, but I’m anxious to see exactly how he played. But he’ll play better, I know that. And as far as [Jalen] Pitre coming off, he hasn’t missed many reps and it felt like we were a little worn down at the time. We had a fresh, rested Eric Murray and we decided to get him a few reps.”

A 1-4-1 start to their season certainly isn’t cause for much optimism, but with so many factors working against their favor, the Texans will take what they can get with any positives they can pull from hard-fought losses. Sunday’s failure may prove to be a crucial factor in improvement moving forward, and to hear Smith tell it, his squad has boundless potential as they trudge forward through their challenging schedule.