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HOUSTON – Jalen Pitre trusted his instincts, reacting on the fly with confidence when he recognized that the New Orleans Saints had called another running play.
The Texans’ precocious rookie safety earned his starting job in training camp by taking decisive actions and aggressively pursuing the football.
And the Stafford graduate and former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year’s preparation paid dividends during his first NFL preseason game.
In his professional debut, Pitre bolted into the Saints’ backfield to tackle running back Dwayne Washington for a loss of two yards.
By doing so, the second-round draft pick from Baylor signaled that his impressive performances in practice carry over in game situations.
Pitre covered a lot of ground to make that tackle during the Texans’ 17-13 victory at NRG Stadium, finishing his first game with four tackles.
Pitre was also in position to potentially pick off Saints backup quarterback Ian Book on a deflected pass that was intercepted by cornerback Tremon Smith.
On another play, Pitre penetrated the Saints’ backfield. He disrupted the rhythm of the play as safety Jonathan Owens knocked Washington backward on a hard hit that dislodged the football with the back recovering his own fumble.
On another play, Pitre penetrated the Saints’ backfield. He disrupted the rhythm of the play as safety Jonathan Owens knocked Washington backward on a hard hit that dislodged the football with the back recovering his own fumble.
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