Tytus Howard may have been a surprise to fans and media, but the scouting community has been aware of his talents for quite some time.

Texans general manager Brian Gaine plucked the offensive tackle from Alabama State with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday evening, and he said the first-rounder has been on a lot of teams' radars for awhile.

"He was a guy that the whole National Football League knew about as early as the month of June and then when you went and saw him play in August and September and the early portions of the fall, you saw a good-looking prospect," Gaine said. "Like I said, he passed the test at every stage of our evaluation. Happy to have him."

Alabama State is a member of the SWAC, but before conference play began last fall, Howard acquitted himself well in a non-conference matchup against Auburn.

He continued impressing the NFL scouting community throughout the season and in the pre-Draft process, and Howard never doubted his capabilities.

"I was expecting first round," the newest Texan said, when asked how high he thought he might get drafted.

Gaine, who reeled off all of Howard's impressive physical qualities in a Thursday evening press conference after the first round, also is impressed with the first-rounder's mental game on and off the field.

"The best selections, I know I have said this in the past, are the ones where you have a guy that meets the physical profile with the intangible profile and we like that profile on offensive lineman, especially," Gaine said. "He's going to be a good addition to what I would say the offensive line room. He's going to be a very good addition in terms of the football personality in the offensive line room." 

Gaine and the Texans will add more to the roster tonight. They own the 54th, 55th and 86th overall picks.