Anchoring the middle of the Texans’ defense, rookie defensive tackle Roy Lopez returns to his roots Sunday as a full-fledged NFL starter.
A former Arizona Defensive Lineman of the Year who had a 113-3 wrestling record as a champion at Mesquite High School in Tempe, Lopez is looking forward to squaring off against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
Lopez has started five of six games for the 1-5 Texans and has recorded five tackles, two quarterback hurries and one quarterback hit.
“I feel like I grow every week,” Lopez said. “It’s just a comfortability thing. Just keeping improving on things that you learn every single game, sometimes you get a new look, but sometimes you get the same look.
“In the NFL, it’s an unforgiving league. If one team sees something, they’re going to try to do the same thing. It’s been great. I’ve been embraced by the whole defense and everybody shows love. We just look to improve every week.”
Photo: Houston Texans
Signed to a four-year contract worth $3.881 million, including a $182,844 signing bonus, Lopez has a lot of strength working in his favor at 6-foot-2, 318 pounds. He bench pressed 225 pounds 36 times at his campus Pro Day workout and had a 31-inch vertical leap.
“As a young player, we kind of talked about what our expectations were for him early on, and you don’t really know as a rookie," Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith said. "But he earned a spot then to start and to play, and we saw him giving us a little bit as a pass rusher at the nose guard position. But it’s about playing the run, staying in his gap, being disciplined with that.
"I think every rep he gets, he hasn’t missed anything since he’s been here. First step is just availability, and he’s been available for a lot of things. It is special when you get a chance to go back to where you played your college football. I know he’ll have a lot of family and friends there, and the best thing for you to do when that’s the case is to play your best ball, and that’s what we’re hoping he’ll do.”
Lopez’s gritty wrestling background and powerful build is creating leverage in his daily grappling sessions with offensive linemen. A graduate transfer from New Mexico State, Lopez recorded 18 tackles with four for losses in just five games last season for Arizona last season. He had 137 tackles, 20 for losses, during his New Mexico State football career.
Now, Lopez is intent on containing mobile Cardinals quarterback Kyle Murray. That's a difficult task, but Lopez and the Texans are determined to prevent Murray from breaking the game open with his multidimensional skills.
“Being from Arizona, I’ve seen Kyler play,” Lopez said. “He’s a great quarterback. He’s mobile. He’s got a great arm. Obviously, he’s a ball player. Defensively we just got to keep that in mind and play our keys. Every single down is a new down. Just keep attacking.”
“We got to rush smart. We got to that in mind when we come free that he’s going to keep the play alive. He’s not just going to go down. He’s not going to give us any freebies and let us celebrate. He’s elusive. He’s a smart football player. We’re just going to get after him, but at the same time do it with a smart mindset.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128