Davis Mills is the Texans starting quarterback, but he's not content.
Three weeks from today, training camp begins at the Houston Methodist Training Center, and the second-year signal-caller plans to attack that first practice. He also plans on attacking every practice after it.
"I still have a lot to prove," Mills said. "Got to go out there and win the job each and every day and put my best foot forward each and every day out here at practice. It's exciting and I want to keep proving that to the guys."
Minutes after getting picked in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Mills met with the Houston media via a conference call. He was asked a question about whether or not he'd met with the Texans before the Draft, and in his answer, he managed to steer it back to the importance of how he wanted to "get to work and start earning my teammates' trust."
Head Coach Lovie Smith has seen every game and practice snap of Mills' since then, and he's been impressed with the quarterback's progress.
"We feel good about him, improvement," Smith said. "The first guy in the building and the last guy to leave, he's gotten a lot of reps, a lot of instructions."
For Mills, who started 11 games as a rookie and tossed 16 touchdown passes, the abundance of reps has been a bonus.
"I think one big thing that's helped me a lot is just comfortability out there," Mills said. "Just having experience and being able to make fast, smart decisions and protect the football."
Running Back Marlon Mack, who signed with the Texans in free agency this offseason, liked what he saw from his new quarterback.
"Great professional, great guy," Mack said "Quick. He's learning fast. Go get it, got to be there, got to be on your game with him and go out there and help each other."
If Mills and the Texans want to see a jump up from just four wins in 2021 to more in 2022, he'll need to play well. Former wide receiver Andre Johnson, who took in a few Texans practices during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), liked the progress he saw from Mills.
"I can see a lot of improvement from last year to now," Johnson said. "He looks he looks very confident out there right now."
Mills and the Texans begin training camp at 8 a.m. CT on August 29.
