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| Texans All-Pro CB Derek Stingley Jr. Shares A Couple Of Moments With Family Before Practice |
One of the main messages DeMeco Ryans wanted to convey when the Houston Texans hired him as their head coach in 2023 was that the team would always feel like family. He wanted to highlight to the organization and players that coming to work would be like being around family members consistently.
Texans NFL All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. understands that feeling—being with his teammates in the locker room, on the field, and in team meetings. However, the euphoric state his body enters when he gets near the stands, which are reserved for family and friends of the Texans players, is indescribable.
As he pauses to gather himself one last time before practice starts, he is greeted by his mother Natasha, girlfriend Annabella, and father Derek Sr. Those moments shared with his family serve as a constant reminder of the support system he has as he navigates through his NFL career.
“It is pretty much the same thing every time,” said Stingley exclusively to Big Sarge Media about the interaction he has with his family before practice. “My dad is giving his speech of wisdom because he is more invested in the practice. My girl and my mom are just there like, ‘Have fun.’ It is good, every single day.
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| Stingley Shows Off Receiving Skills During Practice |
“Once I finish that conversation, normally we go into the bubble (Methodist Training Center), and once we are in the bubble, it is like gameday, and I am ready to go out there and play.”
Stingley’s family has always been strong supporters of his dreams of playing in the NFL, as proven by his father, “Big Sting,” as he is known throughout the football community, who continuously trains his son, as he did when he was younger.
Stingley, who was selected third overall by the Texans in the 2022 NFL Draft out of LSU, was rewarded for his hard work and dedication this past offseason when the Houston Texans made Stingley Jr. the highest-paid cornerback at the time, giving him a three-year extension worth $90 million.
“Without my dad, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” Stingley said to the media during his press conference at NRG Stadium when asked about training with his father. “I mean, just with everything. I wouldn’t even be who I am. Everything, that’s all I can say. I mean, I wouldn’t be me.”
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| Stingley Jr. Getting Some Encouraging Words From "Big Sting" (Derek Stingley Sr.) |