The Texans fortified their backfield this offseason and it showed.
While Lamar Miller played just two series before exiting Wednesday's preseason game at Carolina, rookie D'Onta Foreman received the lion's share of carries followed by Alfred Blue and Akeem Hunt.
"We tried to get him (Miller) out of there pretty quickly, so those other guys had a lot of opportunities," head coach Bill O'Brien said Thursday. "I thought Alfred did a nice job on the drives that he had. He ran hard, saw the cut, had a nice touchdown run. D'Onta did some good things. I thought Alfred did some good things on special teams, too. D'Onta did some decent things on special teams. Akeem Hunt went in there and did a few things for us."
In his NFL debut, Foreman rushed for a team-high 76 yards on nine carries against the Panthers. He converted a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter with a 2-yard attempt and also had a team-high 41-yard run in the fourth quarter. Blue rushed for 33 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Hunt had two carries for eight yards, but added three receptions for 38 yards and two kickoff returns for 36 yards.
Houston rushed for a combined 153 yards on 24 attempts, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. All six Texans running backs saw action in the preseason opener.
"I think there's a lot of talent in that backfield," O'Brien said. "I really do. I think there's some guys that really work hard and have unique skillsets. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out."
The Texans resume training camp practice at The Greenbrier on Friday.
The Houston Texans take on the Carolina Panthers for the first preseason game in 2017.
