Leader of the Pack
Clear Creek’s Lindberg has become a national recruit
Matt Malatesta
Jun 29, 2018, 9:22 pm
New Clear Creek coach Dwayne Lane has to be happy coming back to the district he called home for several years as an assistant at Clear Lake.
After heading to South Houston High School to get his first head coaching job, the powers that be brought him back home to Clear Creek ISD. The cupboard is not bare in the den.
The lead Wildcat is 2020 national recruit Chad Lindberg, who will anchor the offensive line the next two seasons. The 6-foot6, 300-pounder has pulled offers from virtually every high major program. His size is impressive, but something else has caught college recruiters’ eyes.
“Just watch the opening play of my highlight film,” Lindberg laughs. “It was a game against Friendswood. It was just a nasty, fun play where I finished off a block. After I took a look at my film and compared it to others, I figured I was going to get recruited.”
His first offer came from Colorado last December.
“It went quiet for a few months and then the floodgates opened,” he said. “Now I’m just working on all the facets of my game like speed, strength, flexibility and explosiveness during our conditioning camp this summer. I will try and get to some college campuses as well.”
Lindberg likes to hunt and fish, play a little Fortnite and cook. Cook?
“I’m pretty good,” he said. “My favorite meal is surf and turf.”
Lindberg reached the regional track meet throwing the shot put, but knows his future is on the gridiron.
“I love the Texans and J.J. Watt,” he said. “I really liked watching all the college bowl games over the holidays. Any college game I will virtually watch.”
Which begs the question, what are his thoughts on recruiting?
“I’m looking for a great mix of academics and athletics,” he said. “Also a college program’s history of getting offensive linemen to the NFL. Of course that’s the goal.”
This article appeared in the June edition of VYPE Houston Magazine. You can pick up your issue at THESE LOCATIONS. You can also read it online RIGHT HERE.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!