David Quessenberry isn't taking this offseason for granted.
"It's like I wake up and my hands are sore, my neck is sore, my legs are tired and achy and out here sweating the sun and loving every minute of it, every feeling of it, lining up and seeing whoever it is – J.J. (Watt), (Jadeveon) Clowney across," Quessenberry said Wednesday. "Just being like, 'This is what you've always prayed for. You prayed that you could always come back to this point and now it's here.' It's a blessing for sure. I'm loving it."
After a three-year battle with cancer, Quessenberry returned to the practice field for the first time last week. The fifth-year offensive lineman is participating in this month's OTAs after finishing treatments for non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Quessenberry lost 40 pounds, as well as his hair, during chemotherapy. He has since gained most of the weight back.
"Quess looks good," head coach Bill O'Brien said Wednesday. "Can't say enough about that guy. I mean, to come back from what he's come back from and to be out here playing football. I mean, I'd go so far as to say that might be unprecedented. To make it back to where he's at right now, it says a lot about him, it says a lot about this organization that this organization stuck by him, it says a lot about the Houston Medical Center with the cancer hospital and everything. He's doing great. He looks good out there. I think he's got a chance to really keep getting better."
Quessenberry, officially listed as guard, played left tackle at San Jose State University with 37 starts. With three years in Bill O'Brien's offense, he is comfortable with his grasp of the system but his true test is yet to come.
"I'm having a lot of fun out here in OTAs competing with my teammates but, I don't know if coach said it but he says it all the time: it's not real football yet until the pads come on," Quessenberry said. "I can't wait until we get to really hit some people."
The Texans have five remaining OTA sessions at the Houston Methodist Training Center: June 1, June 5-6, and June 8-9. A three-day mandatory veteran minicamp will take place June 13 through June 15.
Check out some of the best shots from the first week of Texans OTAs.
