The Texas Longhorn–signee has played with USA Baseball multiple times. Via VYPE
Originally Appeared on VYPE
It's a cool, breezy day in Houston and Sanson Faltine III (better known as Trey) leans back, stretches his arms out on the metal bench and smiles from ear to ear.
With his Team USA jersey on, a red Fort Bend Travis hat propped up and slightly tilted on the top of his black curly hair, the kid is having fun.
Faltine is always having fun. It's baseball, why not?
"A lot of times kids in high school worry so much about getting recruited and being the best player that they forget about having fun," Faltine said. "I had friends growing up who were way better athletes than I was. They threw farther, hit farther but the process wasn't fun for them. I think that's what a lot of kids lose when they grow up."
With the fun he's had during his time at Fort Bend Travis has come a lot of success on the diamond. Faltine, who is considered by Texas baseball coach David Pierce as one of the "best two-way players in the country," hasn't gone unnoticed.
The Texas Longhorn–signee has played with USA Baseball multiple times, including going to Panama this past fall, where he helped USA win gold on the field and his teammates off of it.
"We would go to the hotel and the maids would come in asking if we needed anything. No one understood, so I had to go to everyone's room asking what they needed," said Faltine, who speaks Spanish. "Towels, shampoo, stuff like that. I got to work on my Spanish a little bit. Meet new people."
Following that experience, Faltine fulfilled a lifelong dream of signing with the Texas Longhorns in December.
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Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.
The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.
CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.
If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.
Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.
What's working in the Texans' favor?
They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.
Bulls on Parade
We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.
And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.
X-factors
The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.
Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.
Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.
What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?
The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.
An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.
What does Vegas think?
The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.
Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!
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