Here’s everything Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said following the second day of training camp, including comments on Will Anderson Jr., the future of the defense and his relationship with Danielle Hunter.

Question: On what he thinks the defense can do to elevate from last season

Azeez Al-Shaair: “Man, every year is a new year. Every year it requires something different. Just to get the results that you might have had last year, you might think that if I do this, then I’ll get this. But sometimes, what I’ve learned throughout my seven years is that sometimes it might require this, just to get what you got last year. it might require even more than that to reach a new level. So, it’s day two of training camp, actually practicing. I couldn’t even tell you, man. You just got to take it literally one day at a time. That’s kind of my motto to myself now is just one day at a time, focus on the day, stay in that moment, try to get the most out of it.”

On his offseason work with the DB’s

“Yeah, I mean there’s a lot of both. I think when ‘Sting’ did it in Hawaii last year, me and Henry [To’oTo’o] were actually just in Hawaii at the same time. So, me and him were training together. And I’m like, ‘Man, ‘Sting’ and them are in the same island as us, they’re just on the other side’. So, I told ‘Sting’ and his dad when I seen him during the season last year that I wanted to make sure that I came out there. Because it is, you’re talking about obviously one of the best corners in the league now. Then all the other guys that were there as well, just learning from guys who have to cover all day, just like I learned from the D-line who have to rush all day. As a linebacker, you got to do both. So, it doesn’t hurt to sharpen your tools.”

Q: On if he wants to be an elite All-Pro player for the linebacker room and if he views himself as that type of player

Al-Shaair: “Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think everybody can say what they want, obviously. If you don’t want to be the best, then you probably aren’t in the right profession. But it’s just about the work, kind of like what I told Aaron earlier. It’s one day at a time. You know, I have my own individual goals. But I know that it’s, again, it’s the third day of training camp. I can’t get those goals, you know, all the way out. Right now, I just got to take it one day at a time and put my best foot forward every day.”

Q: On if he likes being a mentor and philosophical leader for the team

Al-Shaair: “I don’t know. I guess I just happen to be that person. I don’t know. Just the life that I live, the things that I’ve been through. My grandfather, he was the poet of Florida for a long time. So, I guess it’s just in my blood. Everything is always philosophical.”

Q: On what LB E.J. Speed provides to this team

Al-Shaair: “I tell E.J. all the time it’s a blessing that he’s fast because your last name can’t be speed and you slow. And that’s the one thing you see when he’s on the field and he’s fast, fast. You know, his defense is about being fast and physical. He does both of those things. You know, E.J. is somebody who, you know, came into the league the same year. So, you keep up with guys that are in your class. Me and him would talk a lot over the last couple years. So, I’m excited to have him here. You know, like I said, he just brings the same style that we already play. So, he fits right in.”

On what he does to stay healthy

“It’s crazy, but it’s like just like leave no stone unturned. You know, especially at this point for me, I’ve seen all the little gadgets and stuff that everybody tells you will help you. And I think for me it’s like, okay, like it won’t hurt to try it as long as it’s something that’s, you know, like the trainers or whoever is giving it to us says it works. I’m going to just try it. And if there’s some type of science behind it, you know, best case scenario, it helps. Worst case scenario, I just took some other pill that I didn’t need to take. It is what it is. So, I think the biggest thing is just, you know, make sure you leave no doubt. Like if you say you want to do something and accomplish something, but you’re not, your actions don’t align with what you’re saying, then like what are you really trying to do? So, I just try to make sure I walk the same thing that I talk.”

Q: On his relationship with Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley

Al-Shaair: “Nick Caley is literally somebody who’s known me from the time I was a 16-year-old homeless kid. He’s been to my motel that I lived in to now, you know, for both of us to be in the position that we’re in, you know, literally 10 years later, I’m 27 now. It’s just crazy, you know, because we kept up with each other. He actually never coached me at FAU. He left as soon as my class signed. He ended up leaving to go to the NFL right away. But he literally called me and talked to me all the time from that point forward. And you would have thought he coached me for all those years, and we never actually even coached together, coached and played together. But we always had a really close relationship, and he always kept up with me. So, I’m grateful to have him here. You know, he’s just an old friend that just reminds me of how far I’ve come as well.”

Q: On what he has done to expand his mentality when faced with challenges in the past few years

Al-Shaair: “I think for me specifically, it’s just been more getting closer with my faith. I think when you talk about another thing too, you know, just one, my faith, and two, just reading. It’s so funny, but, like, I remember when I graduated college, I was like, I will never read another book. If it don’t got an X or O in it, I’m not reading that crap. So, it’s like, as an adult, you know, it’s like, dang, like, you can read about different things that you actually enjoy. So, I think where I started to learn is that there’s obviously knowledge, it’s never ending. You know, you don’t just graduate college and now you just stop. But there’s new ways to learn and new things to learn. And so that’s what I’ve been trying to do, just to kind of draw back and pull back a little bit from my phone and just kind of be with myself and sit with myself and not need, like, to be around somebody else or in the company of other people or media or phone or the TV to, you know, kind of get enjoyment. I feel like it’s an escape a little bit. A lot of times you’re trying to run from something that’s in your brain. So, if you just be with yourself, you’ll find a lot about yourself.”

Q: On how the defense can excel this season

Al-Shaair: “Yeah, I mean, I think that was one of the key things Coach Rod [Wright] had talked about during OTAs. And we had a lot of sacks, but there was a lot of opportunities to get the ball out and get the strip sack instead of just getting the sack, and that changes the game. So, I think everybody has to look at that and say, okay, pat yourself on the back, great job, you did what you did last year, it’s over. It’s a new year, how can you improve? You know, you got to look and really be real with yourself on what you see because at the end of the day, the tape’s not going to lie, so you can’t lie to yourself. And I think just everybody kind of adopting that same mentality and looking inwards and seeing what they can do better, it’ll help the whole team.”

Q: On what he’s seen from the younger players from a maturity and competitive perspective

Al-Shaair: “Yeah, what I’ve seen, I think, because it really starts when you come back for OTAs and you start to see how guys who have maybe success as a rookie you talk about the whole little rookie group, and you see how they move and how they go about their work, and I think the biggest thing is just seeing them take care of their bodies more, seeing them focus on the little details, and now you got another rookie class that comes in. That’s always weird because the rookie is no longer a rookie. It’s like when the youngest child isn’t the youngest anymore, they kind of throw a little temper tantrum a little bit. You got to see, like, what type of energy they’re coming with, and I think they’ve done a great job of trying to, like, ‘Oh, wow, like, there’s somebody who’s looking up to me now who wants to do the same thing I just did a year ago’. So they’re starting to lead the way, too. So, sometimes you don’t have to be the oldest guy to be a leader. So that’s what I’ve seen.”

Q: On how rare DE Danielle Hunter is as an athlete

Al-Shaair: “Man, I’ve played with guys that, I mean, even, like, [DE] Nick Bosa was, like, a freak, but that guy is, like, fast. Like, Danielle Hunter is fast. He might be faster than most of the guys on our team, I think we were in practice during the season last year, we tried to install some play. Long story short, Danielle Hunter was covering somebody down the sideline and he’s running stride for stride with [RB] Joe Mixon, and he’s sprinting just, mind you he’s in a three-point stance, and runs from a three-point stance facing this way, and Joe’s running a wheel route out the back there and covers Joe all the way down the field and gets a pass break. Like, in my mind, it’s like, ‘Dang, you don’t even need that speed’. So, I mean, he’s somebody who definitely is special, and he’s my locker mate, so I don’t know if anything that he’ll teach me can make me look like him, but, you know, I’m just trying to get all the little nuggets from him that I can.”