Houston Texans kickoff training camp

Football is back! Those may be the three sweetest words to every sports fan's ears. NFL teams around the nation are huddling up for training camp this month in preparation for the 2007 season. In our very own backyard the Houston Texans kicked things off by having rookies report to the Methodist Training Center on July 22, quickly followed by veterans on July 29. The Houstonist will be keeping you informed as to the goings-on at Texans camp for the duration of the month.

Speaking of rookies, Texans first-round draft pick Amobi Okoye agreed to a six-year deal on Thursday. The contract includes a $12.875 million guarantee and has a maximum value of $17.6 million. Because of the ongoing negotiations, Okoye was unable to report to camp in a timely manner and joined the team on Friday for the first of two-a-day practices.

The 6-2, 302 pound defensive tackle hailing from Louisville is being groomed to line up alongside last year's number-one overall draft pick Mario Williams. Okoye is expected to bring sizzle to a lackluster pass-rush that resulted in Houston ranking 27th out of 32 teams in pass defense in 2006.

Bringing even more intrigue to this tale is the fact that Okoye turned 20 on June 10 and is one of the youngest players in the history of the league. We can only imagine what a 20-year old will be doing with several million in his back pocket and Houston's plethora of "establishments" at which to expend it.

On a side note it has been asked numerous times as to whether Okoye bears any relation to former Kansas City Chiefs running back and Nintendo's "Tecmo Super Bowl" stalwart Christian "the Nigerian Nightmare" Okoye. Here it is straight from the rookie's mouth.

We're not really related. It's hard to explain it but this is the way my dad put it....back home you can lean over a fence and literally shake Christian Okoye's hand. I never got to meet him but my dad said when he was back home they were neighbors.

Photo: flickr user mrp1001