Houston Texans assistant offers high praise for John Metchie III
The Houston Texans selected Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III with the 44th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Metchie may have been selected even higher had he not torn his ACL during this season’s SEC Championship game. Now, he’ll suit up as a weapon for new Houston head coach Lovie Smith and second-year quarterback Davis Mills to rely on.
Although still recovering from the injury, Metchie was able to participate in limited fashion during Houston’s mandatory minicamp last week. With expectations he’ll be a full-go in July, he was still able to show offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton a little of what he can do.
In Johnson’s eyes, there’s one skill Metchie has that will quickly translate to pro level success.
“He can create his own yards once he gets the ball in his hands,” said Hamilton. “He has good short-area quickness, which will allow him to beat man coverage. That’s what you got to do in the NFL.”
In three seasons with the Crimson Tide, Metchie showed off plenty of that quickness in the SEC. He put up a career best junior season with 96 catches, 1,142 yards, and eight touchdowns.
With progress well on the way in Metchie’s recovery, it’s now all about preparation ahead of his first NFL campaign. While the date of his debut remains in question, Metchie has shown his new OC enough early on to instill faith that he’ll be just fine in the NFL.
Houston Texans give update on former Alabama wide receiver John Metchie’s injury recovery timetable
The Houston Texans recently drafted former Alabama star John Metchie III to be the franchise’s wideout of the future. He’s been recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the 2022 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Texans are excited to see when their new offensive weapon will be able to get back on the football field and this weekend, they gave an update.
Texans head coach Lovie Smith gave everyone a brief update on his progress,
“I talked about us initially just taking everybody through a certain amount of tests to see exactly where they are,” he said. “We’re in the process of seeing exactly when John would be ready to go. Eventually, he will be ready to go. There’s a lot that he can do before that. He’s not 100% yet, but in time he will be.
“I don’t have that timetable set yet, but in the upcoming weeks, we’ll be able to tell that a little bit more. For us, he is going to play this year. It’s all, as much as anything, about the mental preparation, them catching up, getting in the playbook. You’d be surprised the amount of things we ask of young people and what they have to get down,” Smith said.
Also, Metchie gave yet another very encouraging report on his recovery timetable this weekend.
“As far as the recovery, I will be good to play football in July. I will be good to go, no training wheels,” Metchie said during the draft. “I have been running already for the last couple months. Cutting, jumping, doing all those types of things. When I say I will be ready to go in July, it’s full-go football,” Metchie said.
About a week ago, the former Alabama star once again gave Houston Texans’ fans very encouraging news regarding his ACL recovery.
“Yeah, I feel great in that department,” Metchie said. “My knee’s been doing really well. I’ve always been ahead of schedule, really ahead of schedule for where I am. I’m just excited, just ready to get back. It’s been doing well, no worries there. No speed bumps or hurdles. So it’s been good.”
Metchie was a big-time contributor at Alabama. His collegiate career began in 2019, though he had just four receptions as a freshman. In 2020, Metchie totaled 55 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 16.7 yards per catch. This past season, Metchie erupted for 96 receptions, 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 11.9 yards per reception.