Quick hits from the Texans' Saturday afternoon training camp practice, which took place inside the Methodist Training Center practice facility:
- Texans coach Gary Kubiak announced that the Texans will begin full-contact practices on Sunday. "We've got shells (shoulder pads) tomorrow and then we got full gear the following day," Kubiak said. "It's about time to go." Not surprisingly, safety Bernard Pollard was fired up about the news. I'll post his comments shortly.
- Defensive end Mario Williams and linebacker DeMeco Ryans did not practice in the indoor facility, in which the playing surface can be a bit tougher on players' joints than the outdoor fields. "I think DeMeco will be an every-other-day (afternoon) guy," Kubiak said. "Mario's hip is a little sore, so we gave him the afternoon off."
- Andre Johnson also didn't practice, which is status quo in indoor practices for the star receiver. But with wide receiver Glenn Martinez suffering an undisclosed hamstring injury on Saturday, Kubiak indicated that depth could become a concern. "What we will probably struggle in training camp is the fact that we have two kickers and a deep snapper," he said. "We have two tight ends that aren't participating. It's making our numbers at other positions tough."
- Matt Turk has mastered the art of getting hang time on his punts, which helped him set a career-high in net punting average (39.4 yards) last season. Saturday afternoon, at least one of his booming kicks bounced off the ceiling of the air-supported Methodist Training Center practice bubble. The structure is 90 feet tall at its highest point.
- Texans media affiliates from all across Texas and parts of Louisiana attended the afternoon session. Among the cities represented by reporters were Midland/Odessa, Austin, Waco, El Paso, San Antonio, College Station and Baton Rouge.
