HOUSTON — There was palpable energy onsite at the University of Houston Thursday afternoon.
One would assume that the vivaciousness was generated as the men’s basketball team prepares to play in the “Sweet 16” round of the NCAA Tournament against the Miami Hurricanes as they take one step closer to playing at NRG Stadium in the Final Four.
Yet, that was not the case as excitement emanated from the indoor football facility as 16 players from the Cougars prepared to showcase their skills to all the NFL personnel that was in attendance.
“It is a fun day,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “This is the one thing that makes the players say, ‘I have waited my whole life for this moment.’ It is about those guys, and I am here to support them and hopefully, they do a really good job here like I know they will.”
University of Houston QB Clayton Tune says he has a meeting with the Houston Texans and talks about what it would be like to be drafted by the home town team. #UH #Coogs #ProDay2023 #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire @UHCougarFB @ClaytonTune7 pic.twitter.com/wjDZOjS7vx
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 24, 2023
Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio and special teams coach Frank Ross watched intently as the players went through agility and position drills. One player that has caught the attention of the Texans throughout their college season and the NFL combine workouts has been quarterback Clayton Tune.
Tune led the Cougars to an 8-5 record this season, capped off with a 23-16 comeback win over the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. His 40 passing touchdowns set an American Athletic Conference single-season record and earned him First-Team All-AAC honors.
The Carrollton, Texas, native finished his career completing 63 percent of his passes while throwing for 11, 127 yards and 95 touchdowns. He added 1,298 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns of production to his resumé.
“It felt good, I thought I did well,” Tune told reporters after his throwing session. “A couple of teams came up to me afterward and said, ‘Good job,’ you are ripping it around and we look forward to staying in touch.”
Tune elaborated more on why an NFL team should draft him early despite some analysts speculating that he is a late third-day prospect.
“I think if you just look at my track record, I just make the team better wherever I go,” said Tune. “As long as I have been playing football, I make the team better, I help us win games. This past season if you just look at the amount of times, we had to come back in the fourth quarter. I feel like I was able to play well in crunch time and bring my team along to get us the lead late in the game.”
Even with the speculation that the Texans will select a quarterback with the number two overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, they are one of many teams Tune is scheduled to meet with here soon.
“It would be awesome,” Tune expressed about possibly playing for the Texans. “To be able to stay in Houston and play in front of my fans. I am sure there are a lot of UH fans, that are also Texans fans, so being able to play in front of the same crowd would be great. I am super familiar with the city so it would be awesome.”
