Jerry Hughes smiled as he looked around the practice field at the Houston Texans organized team activities.
After a dozen seasons plying his trade for the Buffalo Bills, the veteran pass rusher was back in Texas playing for the hometown team.
A former high school standout running back at Fort Bend Austin, Hughes grew up a short drive from NRG Stadium.
Signed to a two-year, $10 million contract that includes $5.5 million guaranteed, Hughes, 33, is expected by head coach Lovie Smith to make an impact on and off the field with his leadership and proven skills for a rebuilding Texans team coming off a 4-13 season.
"A veteran rusher, but a veteran player that's done it the right way all his career," Smith said following an organized team activity. "I remember when he came out of college at TCU, and he's played at a high level. To play at a high level, you have to take care of your body. You have to be a pro.
"These are all voluntary days, and he's out here leading. You can't tell that he's not a rookie trying to make his first team, and we need that in our program, veteran leadership like that."
Hughes, a Sugar Land native who rushed for 1,412 yards and 19 touchdowns as a high school senior before concentrating full-time on defense at TCU, is back on familiar ground.
"Oh, man, it feels great, honestly," Hughes said. "I was telling my wife this. I feel like I'm back in high school, just to be back in the city driving around. We used to play high school games at the Astrodome. Very familiar with coming out this way and things like that. Just being part of this warm environment, football city, where everyone is looking for the Texans, even though it's baseball season, everybody still wants to know what we are going to do and how the team is looking.
"I get that just by walking through (local grocery store) H-E-B and things like that. It's been real cool, just being close to family, high school buddies, college coaches, things like that. Not being so far or being in a different time zone, it's been real relaxing for me being closer to family honestly."
Hughes is accustomed to winning, playing for the AFC East champion Bills last season during their playoff run and consistently beating offensive tackles off the edge with his combination of moves, athleticism, and relentless style. He signed with the Texans shortly after Mario Addison, his former defensive end teammate in Buffalo, joined the rebuilding AFC South franchise.
"Bring that sharp mentality to this team," Hughes said of his expectations. "We have got a very young defensive line, so myself as well as Mario Addison, we try to emphasize having that alpha-male mentality up front. We dictate what the offense is going to do, not really settling for just being in our gaps. We want to be able to go out there and make plays, be around the ball, causing turnovers. We understand the importance of the ball.
"Coach Smith talks about it every day during team meetings, so for us just being that game-changer, being that force on the field, I feel like that's something my game has been about my whole 12 years throughout the league. So, just trying to show those guys that we can be a difference-maker on every down, really. If the offense is out there and we have four guys on the field, let's just go out there and let's hunt."
A former Indianapolis Colts first-round draft pick from TCU, Hughes has 58 career sacks. He's posted 412 career tackles (82 for loss) and 129 quarterback hits. Hughes had 18 tackles, one for a loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and three passes defensed last season for the AFC East champion Bills. He had 4 1/2 sacks in both 2020 and 2019 and seven sacks in 2018.
For the Bills, Hughes consistently answered the call. After being acquired in a trade for linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, he started 127 of 144 games played in nine seasons for the Bills.
The chance to play for defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire (his assistant defensive line coach in Buffalo), rejoin Addison, and play close to family made Hughes' decision to sign with the Texans a comfortable one.
"I was watching one of the local channels here, just seeing his name, it threw me off," Hughes said of Addison signing a two-year. $7.57 million deal. "I gave him a call, and he was talking scheme. I'm a big football guy. I love to hear the scheme and as far as what he was saying about Lovie was talking about, about how we get to play fast, we are not thinking, we're reading keys, getting off the ball, that's something that I wanted to be a part of.
"Then being home, being able to do that from home and still be a part of my kid's life where I can take them to the swim team practice and things like that, that's just like icing on the cake right now."
With the Texans, Hughes can set an example for a younger team whose top pass rusher, Jon Greenard, is entering his third NFL season after recording a career-high and team-high eight sacks last season.
"Just bringing that leadership mentality and also helping them understanding the whole grind of the season, how through preseason, first month of the season, you're going to get scout. How to change your game up. What little nuances to look for. How to do pre-snap reads. How to be able to take information from your coaches, data people.
"You know, this organization has so many people that are going to give us information. I think how to use it and play fast. I think that would be a real key point for the young guys. We have so much talent in that room. It's just getting them to understand how great they are."
The Bills' defense is known for its fast, aggressive style.
Under Smith, who operates as the defensive coordinator, the Texans' trademark 4-3 defense relies heavily on the defensive ends to create pressure. He doesn't blitz frequently.
The defensive ends are expected to penetrate the line of scrimmage and consistently harass quarterbacks. That is right up Hughes' alley.
"Just playing on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage is probably what's key right now and getting those guys to understand that we are not reading," Hughes said. "We're fast, we are violent, we are up the field, and we want to dictate what the offense is going to do. We are not really going to let them get settled or comfortable.
"I think that's been the whole main point and getting those guys to understand that by us playing fast and practicing fast, now it's just going to transition to the game so by us doing in this heat, I think it will be a payoff for us."
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and analyst and a contributor to Sports Talk 790.