Texans Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil excited about the ‘whole new vibe’ rookie C.J. Stroud brings to Houston

The Houston Texans have often found themselves on the losing ends of games in recent years. But, the coaching staff and the roster have gone through some significant changes this offseason in an effort to reverse the team’s fortunes. — 

DeMeco Ryans was named the Texans head coach in January, and in April the franchise drafted former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Those moves have appeared to help offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil shake off the team’s past shortcomings and left him feeling hopeful about the future outlook of the Texans. 

“It’s a whole new vibe, man,” Tunsil said during a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” 

The Texans front office executed an ambitious offseason plan by drafting Stroud and then quickly pulling off a trade to secure the No. 3 overall pick. 

Houston used the third overall pick on former Alabama standout Will Anderson Jr.  

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Tunsil said Ryans’ presence helped the team get out of a proverbial “rut.”

“[Coach] DeMeco [Ryans] came in with that energy he brought from San Fran and just changed the whole vibe around the building, and that’s something that we needed, especially since these last past three years we’ve been in a rut. So DeMeco comes in the building, he brought some new coaches, we’ve got some new players. Man, it’s just a whole new vibe that’s in that building. It feels great to be there.”

The Texans training camp is still a little more than two weeks away, but Tunsil is already impressed with what he has seen so far from Stroud. 

The franchise certainly hopes that Stroud will be the answer at the quarterback position for the long-term. Especially since the Texans have used five different quarterbacks over the past three seasons.

Stroud will not take his first snap in the NFL until the fall, but Tunsil said the rookie has already shown that he can lead the team’s offense.

“He handles himself well. He came in the building with these unbelievable leadership skills, and he’s killing it, man,” Tunsil said. “How I describe C.J.: dawg. He’s a straight dawg. He comes in there ready to work, he handles the huddle perfectly and he goes out there and balls, man. You’ve got to appreciate that, especially in a young quarterback like C.J.”

The Texans only won three games last season, and finished in last place in the AFC South division. Tunsil has performed well since he joined the Texans in 2019, earning three Pro Bowl honors in three of the past four seasons.

He started at tackle for all 17 games in the 2022 season. The Texans travel to Baltimore for a matchup against the Ravens on Sept. 10 to kick off the 2023 season.