The Houston Texans must like whatever it is Gary Patterson produces at TCU.
For the second straight draft, the Texans selected a former Horned Frog when they picked linebacker Garret Wallow in Round 5 (No. 170 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft. The year prior, the Texans selected defensive tackle Ross Blacklock with their 40th overall pick in the second round.
Given that Blacklock and Wallow were teammates at TCU, the former Fort Bend Elkins product knows what to expect of his former college teammate.
“I went crazy when they drafted Garret,” Blacklock told Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk 790 [KBME-AM]. “I was driving and I was trying to call him, but I knew he was busy. I was screaming in the car all the way back to Houston. Anybody that knows Garret, knows he deserves it. He’s the hardest working dude in the room. He’ll be a leader, for sure.”
General manager Nick Caserio told reporters on May 1 that they selected Wallow because of TCU’s reputation for defense, and also the versatility Wallow can bring to their linebacking corps.
“He was in the box a little bit, he played detached from the formation,” said Caserio. “Instinctive player, runs well, can close space, is a decent tackler, A-plus football makeup and character, which that’s important to what we’re trying to do.”
The 6-1, 227-pound linebacker provided the Horned Frogs with 287 career tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks in 40 career games with TCU from 2017-20, earning him two all-Big 12 selections. Given his size and speed, and his experience playing in 4-2-5 defensive fronts, Wallow would be a decent coverage linebacker to have as the Texans transition from a 3-4 scheme to a Tampa-2 under new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.
