James Houston IV looked broken, and when he saw his parents outside the locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis after the Detroit Lions’ second preseason game against the Colts, he had a confession to make.
A sixth-round pick out of Jackson State, Houston made two tackles in the Lions’ first two exhibition games and did not come close to an opposing quarterback. He was buried on the depth chart, causing none of the havoc he did during his 16½-sack senior season, and he told his father, James Houston III, “Maybe I’m not good enough” to make it in the NFL.
“I was confused,” Houston, the Lions’ rookie pass rusher, told the Free Press this week. “I didn’t know if I really was supposed to be here. I think a lot of that was probably like just like the scheme I was in and I was being covered up. It definitely hurt my confidence a little bit just because going from (16½) sacks to not doing nothing in the camp. In camp, in the practice I was very productive, it was just in the game. That was something very foreign to me.”
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Houston’s father told him to hang in there, keep working hard and his time would come. His mother smothered him with a big hug, and Houston headed to the busses, never thinking four months later he would be one of the most productive pass rushers in this year’s rookie class.
After spending three months on the Lions’ practice squad, where he refined his pass rush approach while working almost daily against left tackle Taylor Decker, Houston made his NFL debut with two sacks and a fumble recovery on special teams in the Lions’ Thanksgiving loss to the Buffalo Bills.
He got his third sack of the season the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, added another in last week’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, and has four sacks in 38 defensive snaps over his first three NFL games.
Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions’ first-round pick in April, is the only rookie with more sacks (seven) this season entering Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
“You guys probably asked me like a month or two ago about this guy and I told you he was coming,” Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said.
Houston’s rise from little-known draft pick to ferocious designated pass rusher has been stunning for its speed, though it’s not entirely unexpected to those who’ve seen him work or know the path he has taken.
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A master’s level crash course from Decker
Houston spent the first month of the season taking scout-team reps at right defensive end. He mimicked the pass rushers Decker was set to see in games, and he started picking the veteran left tackle’s brain about what worked, what didn’t and what he could do to improve.
Decker dominated Houston early on. He jump-set Houston in one-on-ones, engulfing the smaller defender with his long arms. He toyed with him in team work, sticking his left arm out to trick Houston into burning a move or tightening his alignment on pass checks to dupe Houston into thinking it was a run play.
For the inquisitive Houston, it was a master’s level crash course on the game within the pass-rush game. He felt, in some ways, like a Fortune 500 company hiring a hacker help build its firewalls.
“He’s kinda a quiet guy, but he’ll ask questions about it,” Decker said. “He wants to understand why certain guys do certain things, and it’s awesome. ‘Cause if you can bounce ideas off your teammates, hopefully I helped him get better.”
Slowly, and with the help of defensive line coach Todd Wash and defensive line assistant Cam Davis, Houston learned to weaponize his unique skill set.
At 6 feet 1 and 235 pounds, Houston is undersized for a pass rusher. He has exceptional quickness, though, and the elite ability to get low and turn a corner like only a few pass rushers Decker said he has ever faced: guys such as Von Miller, Robert Quinn and Myles Garrett.
“I realized that me, I move way differently than everyone else, and that movement scared them,” Houston said. “That’s kind of what they told me. They didn’t know what was going on, so they had to stop their feet or lunge or whatever, and I think that’s really what you want the linemen to do so you can get around them. So that really was, that was helpful for me so I understood, ‘All right, I’m quicker than these guys, I can move faster, I can move better than these guys, so I got to use that to my advantage.’ I can’t show my hand. They may not respect that.”
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It all adds up
Houston always has been the cerebral sort, standing apart from his peers for his smarts as much as his athleticism.
As a fourth-grader, he tested so well in math at Country Iles Elementary in Weston, Florida, that his mother forced him to join the school’s Mathletes team. The team traveled the state’s southeastern coast taking part in math competitions. As reluctant as he was to devote his Saturdays to what felt like schoolwork, Houston’s competitive instincts took over and he found himself, scratch paper by his side, trying to win every match.
In middle school, Houston was so proficient in math he would leave school early to take classes at nearby St. Thomas Aquinas High. By high school, he was taking courses for college credit. He ended up at Jackson State after a disjointed career at Florida, in part so he could get a graduate degree from a Historically Black College and University, like generations of his family.
Houston’s father played football at Missouri State, owned eight Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in south Florida and now runs his own residential development company. His mother teaches business classes at the local high school after having her own career in marketing. And his grandfather was the first Black pharmacist in Belle Glade, Florida, and had his own real estate business, James Houston III said.
“Not one person was just not successful, so it was like I can’t be the first one,” said Houston, who still intends to finish his degree at Jackson State. “We got to continue with it, so I feel like I put my own little spin on it.”
At Florida, he played one spring as a rush linebacker, before moving to an off-ball role. He said he never felt comfortable as a pass rusher, though he had a memorable first rep of one-on-ones when he beat standout tackle Jawaan Taylor, who went on to become a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019.
“I beat him on the inside,” Houston said. “I did my little inside move and I beat him, and he was so upset. We lined it up again and I was just so happy, I was like, ‘Come on.’ Lined it back up and he hit me so hard I fell on the ground. I was like, ‘Ah, man, this is different over here.’ At linebacker I could move, I could get out of the way. I could hit you first. At D-end, these some big jokers coming at you.”
From Jackson State to Baldy breakdowns
After three seasons playing mostly in a reserve role and on special teams at Florida, Houston blossomed as a pass rusher in his one year at Jackson State.
The HBCU Defensive Player of the Year, Houston ranked second in the FCS in sacks and tackles for loss (24½) and led the nation with seven forced fumbles, but got by largely on his athleticism.
Houston said he was clueless about some of the finer points of pass rushing until he worked with private coach Chuck Smith during the predraft process. He has learned more about technique and the importance of having countermoves this season.
“When I see (how far I’ve come) it’s like, ‘Wow,’ ” Houston said. “Literally, four weeks ago nobody said my name, and now I’m this guy, (I’m getting a) Baldy breakdown (from NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger on Twitter). It’s like, ‘All right, that’s really cool.’ I always wanted that and it’s a blessing that I’m able to get it, and I feel like that’s just a testament to my hard work. I didn’t really look up and see like, ‘Ah, how far am I from these guys?’ I just put my head down and went to work.”
The next step for Houston is to expand his game beyond the pass rush role he’s slotted into now.
Houston has played primarily in obvious passing situations as part of the Lions’ NASCAR package of speed rushers; he has been effective enough that teams are sliding help his way.
“Crazy,” Decker said. “Four weeks ago he wasn’t playing. The second week he played, he was getting chipped every time. And that says a lot about your natural ability.”
Sheppard says natural ability can only take a player so far.
He said Houston has the skill set to “beat almost anybody” one-on-one, but can become more dangerous once he gains a total understanding of his role and the Lions’ defense.
“I always tell James, because they always know I’m the one with the standard up (high), I’m never getting away from, ‘Do you want to be a 15-snap player? Because I get you’re having all this success, but imagine if you’re playing 30 snaps a game. What would that look like?’” Sheppard said. “So always trying to keep these guys level-headed, and understand there’s so much more out there for them.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.