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Jalen Pitre roots: How Texans hometown guy became one of NFLs hardest hitters Texans nickel Jalen Pitre hosts annual youth football camp Saturday at Stafford High School LIVE RADAR: Storms moving into Houston areaWe need the facts: Houston leaders, LULAC call for independent probe into fatal ICE shooting Houston-area home prices drop for the first time in 15 years.
Heres where buyers can find the best dealsTexans nickel Jalen Pitre holds his youth football camp at his alma mater: Stafford High SchoolHis high school, the hallways, the classrooms and the football field of the Stafford Spartans, are practically sacred ground for him and his family.
This is the community where he met his future wife, Julianna, in kindergarten.They began dating as juniors in high school after Pitre convinced social studies teacher Christopher Reid to allow him to switch to his class and for a classmate to switch seats with him so he could sit next to Julianna.
Even back then, Pitre had a plan and knew what his heart wanted.
One of their first formal dates was at an International House of Pancakes near the Stafford campus.Thats also where they got engaged as Pitre surprised her a few years ago with a date at the same IHOP they went to back in high school.
They got married a year ago.It came full circle, Pitre told KPRC 2.
We went back to the exact same spot.
Very sentimental spot for us and we enjoyed the night there for sure.
She likes French toast, but Im a big pancake guy.#Texans Jalen Pitre: got married to his longtime girlfriend this offseason.
Known each other since kindgergarten, dated since junior year at Stafford.
He proposed last year at same Houston restaurant where they had their first date.
Congrats to Mr.
and...Once they settled in Texas, Pitre grew up in Houston and emerged as an intimidating hitter despite never being the biggest football player on the field.At Baylor, the hit parade continued as Pitre was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
The Texans drafted Pitre in the second round and he became an immediate impact player with 147 tackles and five interceptions as a rookie.Although hes obviously busy and has a demanding job as an NFL player for a playoff squad and a key chess piece for the top-ranked defense in the league, the commitment to his high school, to youth football with the Stafford Cobras, none of that stops for Pitre.Its a beautiful thing for not just me but for my family, Rick Pitre said.
Weve got humble beginnings, man.
I come from a little small town in Louisiana.
To see where I came from, see where we are right now, its very humbling.Its God thats been with us the whole time.And I just feel in my heart that hes going to continue being with us.
Jalen doesnt want to make the moment about himself.
He wants to give, give, give.
My mother was a giving person.My father was a giving person.
And its generational.
And its beautiful for me to see as a father, for me and my wife.
Every football team that Pitre has played on has been in the state of Texas.His legacy is built already as a hometown high school football standout who has succeeded at every level.
A year ago, the Texans made him one of the highest paid nickels in the NFL with a three-year, $42.6 million contact extension that included $20.65 million guaranteed with a $10 million signing bonus.Whether its through his annual youth football camp or giving back to food-insecure children through his partnership with Kids Meals, Inc.
and his Pitre Boyz charitable foundation, Pitre is always giving back to Houston.God is real, Pitre said.
I thank Him for placing me at home.
It definitely helps and it definitely has its perks.
Im forever grateful for this and Im just going to continue to enjoy it.That includes devoting himself to his high school with an extensive track record of pouring back into Stafford.That means a great deal, said Q Silva, Pitres high school position coach at Stafford.
Thats something that I know thats very, very important for him is to come back and give to his community.
He went to school here.
He met his wife here.Giving back to the community is something that he really, really enjoys.
uncoiled his body with incredible power, bringing a ton of force and torque into his aiming point as he delivered a crushing, clean tackle with his right shoulder and forearm last season.The Texans nickel struck Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice so hard last season that the collision sent him flailing to the ground and flipping through the air with a devastating hit that separated him from the football.
The hit stick tackle didnt draw a flag, or a fine.
It was another textbook punishing tackle from Pitre, a Stafford graduate whos one of the hardest hitters in the game regardless of position.Last season was arguably his best all-around season for tackling, and pass coverage.
He put on a textbook clinic at the nickel position.
Where did it all start for Pitre? The former second-round draft pick and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year from Baylor was taught in the backyard with his family as his father instilled toughness in his son.My older brother, really, there used to be jokes that I couldnt hit as hard as him, Pitre said.
That pushed me and motivated me to be just as tough as him.
Thats kind of where I draw my inspiration from.Thats a big reason why I play the way I play today.
My pops, since I was a young-un, I was always tackling my older brother.
That definitely prepared me for these times.
Youd rather be the hammer, Pitre said.It dont hurt when you go make the hit.
I think the biggest thing is want-to.
I look forward to those hits in those moments.
Obviously, just being taught the right things throughout my life and just trying to use my leverage to hit as hard as I can...Just a determination to want to hit somebody and just bringing everything you got and not slowing down.
I think thats the biggest thing.
And then, obviously, our coaches do a good job at teaching the proper ways to tackle, the proper angles to hit from, and the legal way to do it.
Two seasons ago, Pitre launched Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet into the air with a thudding shoulder hit.The tackle initially drew a penalty flag for unnecessary roughness that was quickly picked up as it was clearly not an illegal hit as Pitre didnt make contact with his helmet and stuck the much larger Kmet in his shoulder pads.Jalen has come full circle with that tackling, Rick Pitre said.
Im not saying this to brag, but Jalen has always been the smartest kid on the field.
The looks that you see, he just knows where the football is going to be.
He gets there before the offensive player.Ive always taught both of my boys to always initiate.You get the momentum first and youre going to win that battle every time.
So, its just in him to do that right now.
Hes mature doing it.
Im so proud of him, of knowledge that he has of this game and the studying.He understands it all.
I promise you, the best is yet to come with him.
Later on that season, Pitre popped the football out of the hands of Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Guyton with the forced fumble returned for a touchdown by teammate Derek Barnett.
Baltimore Ravens bruising running back Derrick Henry, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound All-Pro, said the way Pitre upended him last season was the hardest hit hes ever sustained in the NFL.I didnt teach him that, Silva said.
Thats just the way hes been from Stafford Cobras, up to his Houston Texans career.
He just has a knack to punish people.
Hes a nice guy off the field, but on the field hes a different dude.Hes a student of the game.
Everything that he does, he does technique-wise, and he makes sure that he masters his technique.
He makes sure that all his form is correct.
Definitely a safe hit and very clean, Pitre said.It was a good boost for our team in that moment.
Pitre intercepted his fourth pass of the season against Kansas City, picking off star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He contorted and twisted his body to tip the football to himself.
It was an incredible interception for the Texans top-ranked defense and the man who sports the No.
5 jersey.Five is the best in the world, Texans corner Kamari Lassiter said.
Every time I watch his film, I tell him: You are one of one.
Ive never seen a player like him.
He is elite.
Pitre prides himself on making clean tackles that are within the NFL rulebook.
Hes not looking to cause injuries, or draw penalties.Its very important, because in no way do I want to hurt the team and in no way do I want to hurt any players on our other team, Pitre said.
Because I think if you hit somebody and you get a penalty, its like 15 yards.
Im trying to keep my money.The NFL gonna fine you for sure if its illegal, so Im trying to keep it as clean as possible and make sure Im in the target zone.
The head injury wound up forcing him to miss three games, and it led him to a decision to protect himself.
He wears a special Guardian cap on his helmet, which has a proven record of preventing concussions.Obviously, I do take my health very seriously, Pitre said.
Im going to continue to have the Guardian cap on.
It was ultimately a family decision.
After my concussion, it was a bit tough for me coming back.It was probably the longest time Ive been out for the concussion.So, after speaking with some family members, we all thought it would be best for me to keep that on and have my safety at the utmost importance.
He never wants to go through that again after previously missing regular-season games with a torn pectoral that required surgery and a bruised lung.Whatever you do in life, it just has to make sense, Rick Pitre said.
And for him to protect himself for longevity in his NFL, it just makes sense for you to protect your head.
He realized when he didnt wear it and he got the concussion, those were some of the toughest times for him sitting around waiting.
I dont think he wants to relive that.So wearing the Guardian hat, it makes sense, not just to him, but to the family.
During his annual free youth football camp in June, Pitre celebrated his 27th birthday.
The kids sang happy birthday to him.
It was a surprise, as was the birthday cake he shared.This is where it all started for him and his family.We wouldnt do it anywhere else, Rick Pitre said.
We believe in giving back.
We dont forget where we came from.
Were going to continue doing that.This is just the beginning.
Reid taught Pitre and his older brother in high school.
To this day, Pitre calls the chair of the social studies department Mr.
Reid, who is a devoted Texans fan.Jalen is very courteous, Reid said.
I told him, Hey, you dont have to call me that anymore, but thats just how he is.
Hes absolutely the same guy, low-key.
When he got drafted, it was just a surreal moment.Its all come full-circle, and theyre Stafford proud.
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