Jalen Pitre is a true student of the game

Houston Texans safeties coach Joe Danna discussed Jalen Pitre’s progression this season.

Thursday, Texans safeties coach Joe Danna spent almost his entire media session discussing the development of Texans second-round pick Jalen Pitre.

Pitre is obviously coming off a strong game:

“First, talking about him; obviously, he had a productive game. He’s done a nice job through the rookie year to continue to get better every week. Anytime you can get a takeaway in a game like he did, that’s huge for us defensively as a team. That’s something we need to continue with.”

Danna said Pitre has kept his confidence by trusting himself and working within the system:

“Really, he’s just functioned within the confines of our defense. Just executed the technique, played it the way that we talk about it. He’s got a good feel for the game and made a heck of a play.”

Despite being a rookie, Danna expressed Pitre works just as hard off the field as he does on it:

“I’ll just say this, can’t say enough about how much he, as a rookie, works at his game, studies the game, takes care of his body. He takes the coaching. The credit is to him. We try to coach everybody the same. He works at it. It’s important to him. It’s just good to see he was able to reap the benefits of some of that work.”

Danna believes Pitre is a guy that just truly loves everything about the game of football:

“I think it just shows he really loves the game. It’s not a chore for him to sit in a meeting, watch the film, and study and things like that. He truly enjoys it. I think it’s a passion of his. When you have that, it doesn’t feel like work. It makes it a little easier to come into the building every day. I think he’s kind of proven that.”

Pitre always has a levelheaded approach:

“It’s tough through an NFL season. Every Sunday, you’ve got to show up. There’s going to be ups and downs, especially at the position we play. You’re going to have your splash plays. You’re going to have your not-so-good plays and just try to be the same every week. Never get too high, never get too low and just keep grinding out every week.”