Texans Daily

Texans Coach Lovie Smith Raves About 'Sponge' Jalen Pitre

Lovie Smith is a big fan of second-round pick Jalen Pitre

Matt Galatzan

The Houston Texans selected Jalen Pitre with the No. 37 overall pick in the second round out of Baylor in the 2022 NFL Draft last month, addressing a major need in the secondary that plagued them in 2021. 

And so far through rookie minicamps and organized team activities, Pitre has impressed, catching the eye of his head coach, Lovie Smith, 

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Jalen Pitre

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Jalen Pitre

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Jalen Pitre

“Jalen, he’s a sponge,” Smith said on May 24 during OTAs. “He’s picking up quickly.”

Pitre's ability to learn quickly should come as no surprise. For the Bears, he was the leader of the defense, finishing his senior season with 75 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and seven pass deflections.

In five total seasons at Baylor, Pitre recorded 195 tackles with 140 solo hits and 8.0 sacks.

However, he wasn't always a safety, beginning his career at linebacker before moving positions in 2020-- a telltale sign of a cerebral player. 

But despite that experience, even at multiple positions, Smith says Pitre still needs to get his reps in the Texans system.

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Daniel Dunn, USA TODAY
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Jalen Pitre
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“He needs reps,” Smith said. “Offseason work helps those guys so much, and that local flavor is good also.”

The good news for Pitre is he is used to earning his chance. He had to do the same thing at Baylor under Dave Aranda, and once he did, he thrived in the Bears system.

“The biggest thing that I learned was just to be patient with things and just to wait on my turn,” Pitre said on May 13 at rookie minicamp. “Coach Aranda is a very patient individual. That’s something I’ve been trying to work on.”

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com