Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
You can learn a lot from a face-to-face conversation. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
DeMeco Ryans has experienced the NFL scouting combine as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
He values the opportunity to meet draft prospects this week.
“It’s being able to sit down across from the player face to face and be able to hear their story, hear their background, their upbringing, but also getting to feel their energy,” Ryans said. “Feel their passion and love for the game of football. It comes off in those 15-minute interviews and I can feel that energy very instantly.”
A second-round pick by Houston in 2006, Ryans was a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker in six seasons with the Texans and four with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his coaching career as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers from in 2017 before going back to Houston to serve as head coach.
A total of 329 college players were invited to the combine to showcase their skills in front of general managers, coaches, scouts and other team personnel. They’ll endure medical evaluations and rounds of interviews with various teams.
For Ryans and many coaches, those conversations are vital. Scouts will dissect the 40-yard dash times, the vertical jump and all the other measurables.
But the interviews determine the intangibles like heart, character, leadership ability.
“I can’t replace that face-to-face energy and human element that is so important,” Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’m hard-pressed with how important the decisions are for the fabric of your team when it comes to the NFL draft. Everybody can do it a different way. I need to see people in person for me to kind of complete the whole picture of what I’m seeing on film.”
Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay again are skipping the combine this year, relying instead on their scouting department. But they’ll still get a chance to interview players on formal visits.
The nature of interviews has been scrutinized over the years because there were instances where players were questioned about their sexual preference or whether their mother worked as a prostitute.
NFL executive Troy Vincent sharply criticized the process a few years ago and the league has warned teams they could be fined and forfeit draft picks for any conduct that is “ disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional” during an interview.
Ryans makes sure prospects have a pleasant experience because he knows what it’s like going through all of these interviews.
“A meeting with the Texans here at the combine, we hope it comes off as very loose,” he said. “We’re not trying to grill guys too much. I want to make them at ease because I remember being here at the combine where I had some of those meetings where they were very tense. And so, I just want to make sure guys are at ease and they’re comfortable and we just get to know the person. That’s the main thing. We get a chance to watch as much tape as we can on these guys. But it’s really just sit down, helmet off and let’s know your background, let’s know why do you love the game of football and what’s your why? Those are the things that we ask our guys and we get a lot of insightful comments from guys from asking those questions.”
The combine has evolved from when it launched inside a hotel in 1982 mainly to bring prospects to one location so teams could gather medical information. It’s become a moneymaking machine for the league and a television spectacle with several days of live coverage.
“The No. 1 thing would be having a chance to visit these guys in person,” Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “Remember the beginning of the combine was to combine medical information. That was the purpose of it. As a league, all the teams were going to see these guys and asking them to basically get looked at multiple times. Then they ran them on a 40 and then we had some other drills and then we said, ‘Let’s interview them.’ It’s grown. I would say for me, it’s having a conversation in a 20-minute time frame. Maybe an informal conversation, but putting a face with the name and film we are going to study. We will get this all on video, but that is one part of it. Then (No.) 2, seeing them in person.”
Defensive backs and tight ends kicked off the workouts Thursday after first meeting with the media. Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, spoke to reporters but will wait to do drills at his pro day. Hunter had the largest group surrounding him when he spoke in the morning, saying he plans to play cornerback and wide receiver.
As for his personality, Hunter said: “Everybody knows that I can light up a room just by walking in it. I always have a smile on face. I bring the excitement.”
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As we barrel toward Opening Day which is now less than four weeks away, so far it’s been largely a case of no news is good news at Astros’ spring training. Meaning no major injuries to key players, no controversies brewing. There are numerous question marks that can’t truly be answered until we get into the games that count, such as how will Jose Altuve fare as a left fielder. The most exciting thing to happen over the first week of Grapefruit League games would probably be the two-home run game from top prospect Cam Smith, he of the Kyle Tucker trade. Both came off minor league caliber pitchers, but so what. Smith turned 22 years old last Saturday, the ideal is that he forces his way to the big leagues by the end of this season.
A strong majority of players who go on to greatness in Major League Baseball get to the big leagues before they turn 23. I spoke to this with Astros-specific perspective this week during an episode of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. The ten greatest offensive players in franchise history as measured by Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric are: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz, Alex Bregman, Joe Morgan, and Bob Watson. Eight of those ten debuted in the majors at 22 years old or younger. Cedeno was 19! Morgan and Watson were 20. Wynn and Altuve were 21. Biggio, Bagwell, and Bregman were 22. That leaves Cruz and Berkman as the exceptions. “Cheo” debuted with the Cardinals and didn’t get to the Astros’ organization until he was 27. Berkman arrived at 23. He should have been up sooner but was backlogged in 1998 behind a fabulous outfield of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell, with youngster Richard Hidalgo as the top reserve, while first base was manned by Bagwell in the heart of his prime.
The point is, special talents should be fast-tracked and/or fast-track themselves to the Major Leagues. There are numerous exceptions (team mistakes, late bloomers), but a very high percentage of eventual big stars get to The Show at a young age. Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout entered at 19. Ronald Acuna Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Jose Ramirez did so at 20. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Yordan Alvarez were 21. Not all tear it up immediately the way Yordan did upon his promotion in 2019, but rare tools and talents merit accelerated opportunity. The focus here is on hitters, but this isn’t a bad spot to note that among the four greatest pitchers ever to hurl for the Astros, only Randy Johnson was older than 22 when he started (25 as a notoriously raw and wild Montreal Expo). Nolan Ryan was a 19-year-old New York Met, Roger Clemens a 21-year-old Boston Red Sox, and Justin Verlander a 22-year-old Detroit Tiger.
This is not predicting mega-stardom or a plaque in Cooperstown for Cam Smith, but if the Astros have such a player in what is presently a lousy farm system overall, the odds overwhelmingly favor Smith being that guy. He should be ticketed for double-A Corpus Christi to start this season after having had just 96 at bats in single-A and 19 at AA in the Cubs’ system after being drafted last July. Should Smith excel with the Hooks, it’s not preposterous to see him getting to the Astros over the summer, especially given the shaky state of the big club’s outfield going into the 2025 campaign. Plenty of players have skipped over AAA. While Smith was drafted as a third baseman, unless the Astros grow offensively desperate enough to move Isaac Paredes to second base, Smith’s fastest path to Daikin Park right now might lead to right field. Coming off a relentlessly bad 2024, it’s make-or-break time for Chas McCormick. Chas is making three-point-four million dollars this season and turns 30 in April. If he is not a heckuva lot better this year, there is no way the Astros are bringing him back at an even bigger salary number in 2026.
Jacob Melton is another outfield prospect, but he’s already 24 years old and has yet to show any sort of elite hitting traits in the minors. Melton looms as a cheaper replacement for Jake Meyers in center.
Those who will ultimately be great only have time siphoned from their careers when not brought up as soon as reasonable. Of course there is risk of unfulfilled potential or straight up bust status. If early failure crushes a player, he wasn’t headed for greatness anyway.
On the upswing
Closing aside: a pinging endorsement for the Astros’ Annual College Classic Friday through Sunday. The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and runner-up Texas A&M Aggies head the field. Rice, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Arizona fill out what is always an excellent six-team event. With gorgeous weather forecast through the weekend the roof should be open throughout. RIGHT?
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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