The NFL world is about to get a big dose of Bill O'Brien, Jadeveon Clowney and the Houston Texans thanks to their selection as this year's subject of the HBO series, Hard Knocks.
O'Brien, at the helm of a Texans team that made a significant turnaround last season, is eyeing even bigger things for the team and Clowney in particular this year and doing his best to ignore the hoopla and hype that are sure to come accompany the HBO television cameras this summer.
While Clowney's return to the field is questionable and will, no doubt, be a big topic this offseason in Houston, O'Brien couldn't help but set a soft date for his return for the Texans.
"I think he's gonna be there for the opening game (of the regular season) against Kansas City," O'Brien said, via NFL.com. "I think he's going to make it back, and I'm really looking forward to that. He's working very hard to get back."
For O'Brien and the Texans, the offense and namely the quarterback position is probably set for a starring role on Hard Knocks, as veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer and young unknown Ryan Mallett will battle it out in training camp for the leading role in Houston.
It could be though, that Clowney, the former first-overall pick just last season, could steal the proverbial - and literal- show.
Clowney entered the NFL with about as much hype as is possible for one player to garner, but promptly wound up under the knife and on IR after being forced to endure the dreaded microfracture knee surgery.
It's a surgery that has produced as many failures and derailed as many promising careers as it has brought players back to their full and complete selves.
Since the announcement in December that Clowney had undergone the surgery, questions over his Texans and NFL future have swirled.
HNGN passed along a report in February that concerns over Clowney's ability to return were unfounded and that the team still expected him to become an impact player.
"I spoke to sources inside the Texans' front office about this story, and they do not feel concerned about Clowney's injury," the report stated. "The Texans confidently believe that Clowney will recover and be the player he was expected to be when they draft him."
Others have, of course, suggested that Clowney may never be the same athlete he was prior to the procedure - something which is particularly concerning considering Clowney's never been known as a technician and has always been able to get by on physical domination alone.
Still, time will tell on the big 'backer's future, but it's certainly promising for fans of the Texans that O'Brien is so optimistic about Clowney's readiness for an important Week One matchup against Kansas City that will likely set the tone for the entire 2015 season.
