His owner and coaches agree -- Texans' Demeco Ryans is special

Texans' defensive coordinator Richard Smith went a step farther, calling Ryans "a coach on the field" and "the backbone of our front seven."

"When we drafted him two years ago, he was special from the get-go," Smith said. "During games he came up with adjustments and made comments like guys who I had coached in the league for 12 or 13 years would do.

"He's a student of the game. He does not have any ego whatsoever. The team is the most important thing with him. He's been a blessing. He's had two good years and we're hoping that he has a better year with him this year."

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Ryans sidestepped questions about himself and instead focused on his team, beginning with a defense that needs to improve against the run and create more turnovers this season.

"We have to find a way to beat the teams in our division (AFC South)," Ryans said, referring to the Texans' 1-5 record against Indianapolis (0-2), Jacksonville (1-1) and Tennessee (0-2) last season. "We got to find a way to go beat Indy at Indy. We got to find a way to beat Tennessee. We haven't beaten Tennessee since I've been here. READ MORE