Everything Houston Texans TE Dalton Schultz said following Day 1 of minicamp

Here's everything Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz said following the first day of minicamp, including his budding relationship with Pro Bowler C.J. Stroud and the impact of newcomer Foster Moreau.

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>Question: On what he has seen from [QB] C.J. Stroud this offseason

>Dalton Schultz: “He's been working. Since the season has been over, I think he got to work straight away. We met up before OTAs even started and he already looked like he'd been training for months. I think just coming into OTAs with that mindset of getting back to work and really starting from basics, fundamentals, throwing mechanics, footwork, he's been looking really good out there. He's looked a lot smoother. Any time you're in year two of an offense, it's going to happen. But I think that he's just done a good job of just leading the group and leading the group cleanly, which clearly helps with the operation of everything. He's done a really good job.”

>Q: On wanting to make it further in the playoffs and if last season’s ending stung

>Schultz: “They all kind of sting the same. The older you get, maybe a little bit more because it's like, ‘Damn, it feels like another opportunity gone.’ But for me, I didn't really have an offseason. I've been training literally since we got back. I took a week and a half, two weeks to take a trip and I've been training ever since. I was rehabbing immediately after the season. To me, it's like as much work as it's been, it's kind of been refreshing because it's allowed me to kind of feel young. When you're young and your body's feeling good, you pour everything you got because you have to get bigger. You have to get stronger. For me this year, going into year nine, I was right back on that same plan. I'm a guy who kind of hangs my hat on the work and the prep that I do. For me, it's allowed me to hone in on my goals and really start back at ground zero and take a lot of leaps and strides in my own game, my own health, my own nutrition, and just get my body where I really want it to be.”

>Q: On whether he felt any extra pressure last season play with the other injuries in the tight end room

>Schultz: “No. I don't think so. I've always prided myself on fighting through little bumps and scratches and nicks. That's just the game of football. It's weird still calling myself one of the older guys. When I was young, looking at the older guys around me to see what those guys were playing through when the game had a little less rules—  To me, it's like I'm playing through bruises compared to what I saw the older guys when I was young play through. I think it's just a little different mindset for me.”

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>Q: On what he has seen from WR Tank Dell

>Schultz: “I'll be the first one to tell you, I love it when I see Tank on the field. It's been two long years for him. I know he's gone through a lot. He's had a crazy road to recovery, but every time he's out there, he's a dude that just brings juice, brings good energy. At the end of the day, the kid's a hell of a receiver. I know when he lines it up, when he's on the field, we're going to have a good matchup. To just to see him back out there is motivating for guys, especially considering what he's gone through.”

>Q: On whether the additions of TE Foster Moreau and having TE Brevin Jordan and TE Cade Stover healthy allows the offense to try new things

>Schultz: “It's a good question. We're not quite there yet. We'll see when the reigns come off everybody, but I'm excited. We have a very well-rounded room and a bunch of guys that do a lot of different stuff really well. I think Foster has been a great addition for us, just bringing the energy, the juice. He's a classic Louisiana kid, chirping everything all the time. We need that, especially on offense. We need that sort of thing. I think our room has come together nicely. We'll continue to work and to get better and show that we can contribute in many different ways in this offense.”

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>Q: On how he hast been able to tweak his game to Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley’s offense and the impact of the addition of RB David Montgomery

>Schultz: “‘Cales’ is a tight end guy. He's always trying something. There are always little wrinkles like, ‘Hey, let's do this out of this formation. Let's try this out. Let's motion it.’ I don't think he goes to bed without thinking about ball, I don't think he can turn it off. We're always coming in, mixing stuff up. He's really good about letting us know, ‘Hey, on this, let's do this differently.’ That's been fun, especially in OTAs, where you can get away with trying some of that. You've got a little bit more time to spend on stuff like that. That's been fun. I think ‘D-Mo’ is going to be a hell of a back for us. That mindset, that downhill, ‘I don't have to go around you, I'm going to go through you mindset,’ is something that brings a different energy to the backfield. I'm hoping that this scheme works well for him. I think he's seeing it great. At the end of the day, we brought in another leader.”

>Q: On what he wants to add to his arsenal this season and what he wants to do differently

>Schultz: “It's funny, like, everything. It's hard because, as a tight end, you're asked to do everything. You constantly have to be working on everything. I know that's not the best answer or the easiest thing to do. It's hard when you're asked to pass block against Will Anderson. It's hard when you're asked to run block against Danielle Hunter. It's hard when you're asked to go one-on-one against Derek Stingley. You're asked to do all these things and all the different facets, trying to get ‘Cales’ to give us a handoff one time to test those waters. There's so much to work on. At the end of the day, we only have so much time out here. For me, a lot of that's come in the training part, in the weight room and honing my physical body, trying to get it to a point where it's like, I feel more athletic. I feel more explosive. That helps the route-running stuff. That helps the run blocking stuff. Then I think with [James] Ferentz coming in, he has a really good kind of offensive line, physical run blocking background. I'm hoping that through some of that work, that'll kind of allow a little bit more growth in the run game, for me specifically. Just by working through some of those fundamentals and techniques, that is just a different view and a focal point than what I think we're used to technique-wise.”

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>Q: On what he has seen from TE Marlin Klein both mentally and physically

>Schultz: “Good athlete. He's a big dude. He moves well. I think in this offense, specifically, like I just was saying, you are asked to do everything. Knowing where to be and where to line up and how to execute is like a big hurdle. It's a big learning curve. I think as a young guy, being able to soak that up and to get that information and use it well and be able to go out and actually line up and execute at full speed, it's hard to do. So far, I think he's done a good job of that. Training Camp kind of is the true test of putting the pads on and figuring out like when the bullets are flying. We'll see, I'm excited for him.”

>Q: On what he has observed from the young offensive linemen and what will be the key to better run blocking this season

>Schultz: “I think first and foremost, run blocking is about mindset. The mindset and then the technique. It’s like, ‘Are you willing to put your face in there? Are you willing to fire off the ball and honestly be willing to miss sometimes? Are you willing to just take off and run through a guy?’ I think from the new faces that we have and the new guys that we brought in, that's the first thing that's jumped out to me is just the mindset. I think DeMeco threw a few clips on in the first week of like pulling some of the offensive line back saying like, ‘Hey, on pass blocking, we can't go clean out like a defensive end who's just kind of sitting there holding up.’ We had guys flying around trying to hit people. I think, from that mindset, that's a problem that we hadn't necessarily had for the last couple of years. That's something that jumped out immediately. Having to pull guys back and be like, ‘Hey, slow down.’ Which is usually what he's saying to the defense. To see it on the offensive side was nice (laughs). I think at the end of the day, it's all here [mental]. I think we have the guys for it.”

>This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans: Everything TE Dalton Schultz said following Day 1 of minicamp