HOUSTON – Xavier Hutchinson helped deliver one of the biggest plays of the Texans season when he and quarterback C.J. Stroud improvised against the Los Angeles Chargers to spark the offense in a playoff victory.
After a rough start, Stroud and Hutchinson transformed an AFC wild-card playoff game into a rout as they boosted the offense on a busted play when the quarterback took his eye off the football on the snap from center Jarrett Patterson that sailed through his hands, picking up the loose football off the hop and scrambling to the right sideline to complete an inexplicable 34-yard pass to Hutchinson. That set the stage for the Texans taking the lead and grabbing the momentum.
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Now, Hutchinson is looking to keep growing as a player under the leadership of new offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Caley, previously the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, brings a background with Sean McVay and with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels from his time with the New England Patriots.
“I’m excited, man,” Hutchinson told KPRC 2 during a Upper Deck Golf event with PXG and teammate Robert Woods this week at Daikin Park. “He seems like a great young coach, has a lot of energy about him, a lot of positivity. Obviously, he’s come from some great organizations.
“So, you know he’s going to bring that great structure and really just be able to learn from him. I feel like he’s going to have a lot of things to teach us, and it’s going to be a fun ride with him.”
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A round of @upperdeckgolf @pxg with #Texans wide receivers Robert Woods @robertwoods and Xavier Hutchinson @XBH__8 at Daikin Park as part of a growing sports concept at stadiums across the nation @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/eGtK2MkrWy
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 21, 2025
For Hutchinson, his second NFL season ended on a strong note as he caught a combined five passes for 86 yards on seven targets in two playoff games. The former Iowa State All-American and All-Big 12 selection caught 12 passes for 117 yards during the regular season in 16 games and three starts with 26 targets for six first downs. In two seasons, he has 20 catches for 207 yards on 45 targets.
“Kind of got thrown in there a lot of different times throughout the season,” Hutchinson said. “I felt like I was prepared for each of my moments. I feel like that’s all you can do. You can just prepare for your moment. You know, when your moment comes, you got to snatch it. Still a lot of progress I gotta make, which I’m happy about. It’s just really a chance to get better and keep on improving.”
Playing golf, a challenging sport of precision and technique, brought some parallels to football for Hutchinson in terms of concentration.
“I got some great coaching and figured out that maybe I can make this my little second hobby,” he said. “You really got to go with each swing, keep swinging and learn from your mistakes. Definitely, technique, especially with the mentality and the mental toughness that you gotta have. I gotta have some type of resiliency.”
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— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 11, 2025
Here's #Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud turning a potential disaster into an incredible play @KPRC2
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
