Perfect.
That's how wide receiver Keke Coutee describes the feeling when he realized he would stay in Texas as an NFL player. Coutee, a native of Lufkin, had always been inspired by Dez Bryant, another Lufkin wide receiver with an NFL career that began in Texas.
"Just being able to watch a guy like that all of my years of growing up just really made me realize I wanted to do with my life," Coutee said via phone on Texans Radio. "Just seeing him go to Dallas and me going to Houston, just shows that guys from Lufkin, we're really serious about our football. We're very competitive and we have a lot of great players so just to be out there with him and stay in Texas like he did, really means a lot to me."
Coutee (5-10, 180), who played three seasons at Texas Tech, had the opportunity to meet and work out for another NFL great who inspired him, Wes Welker.
Welker, a former top slot weapon in the NFL and fellow Red Raider alum, is in his second year as an assistant offensive and special teams coach. The Texans vision for Coutee may be similar to that of Welker's in the NFL, as a slot receiver and returner.
"Naturally, Wes is a graduate of Texas Tech and played football there, but he and both John Perry spent a lot of time evaluating Keke Coutee, as well as Coach (Brad) Seely for special teams," general manager Brian Gaine said. "You've heard me say it before; we wanted to make a conscious effort of adding speed, athleticism, explosiveness to both the offense and defense, height, weight, speed as many times as we could. We feel like he possess and adds a complementary dimension to our offense because he could be an inside receiver who has explosiveness."
Coutee finished his career at Texas Tech ranked second all-time in receiving yards, trailing only Michael Crabtree's total from the 2007 season. In 2017, Coutee's 1,429 yards receiving marked the most by a Tech junior in school history. As a returner, he also added 315 yards on 10 kickoff returns and one touchdown.
The Texans selected Coutee with the third pick of the fourth round (103rd overall). He will wear No. 16 as a Houston Texan.
Check out photos of the Houston Texans 103rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Keke Coutee.
