INDIANAPOLIS – An absolutely mauling, dominant road-grader of an offensive lineman, Tyler Booker is doing much more than jus blocking on the field and clearing pathway for his running backs and protecting quarterbacks.
The second-team All-American offensive guard is downright demoralizing and damaging to his opponents. His stated goal: make them quit at the line of scrimmage and not want to play anymore.
Recommended Videos
He’s an overpowering presence at an athletic 6-foot-5, 352 pounds.
“It’s legal assault out there, and I love football because the brand of football that I play, I make guys not love football anymore,” Booker said at the NFL scouting combine. “I do that every down by just giving it my all and letting them know I’m not gonna let up. The thing I love most about football is taking the love away from other people.”
And Booker could galvanize the Texans’ offensive line, the weakest point of the team, perhaps in the first round with the 25th overall pick of the draft. He met formally with the Texans at the combine.
Booker plays the game with a definite nasty streak, steamrolling over the competition.
Before the combine, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns scout, compared Booker’s hard-nosed, relentless mentality to Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
As it turns out, the comparison makes a lot of sense watching Booker play, listening to him talk about the game with such passion and in how he emulates Anderson’s leadership style.
“It would mean a lot to be on a team with Will Anderson,” Booker said. “I’ve learned a lot of my leadership skills from Will. Being around a guy like that who loves the game of football. That’s something hard to pass up on. In the game of football, not everybody loves it.
“I’m a guy who eats, sleeps, and breathes football, and not everybody does. Some people play for the money, some people play just because they’re good at it, but I love the game of football, and Will is another person who truly loves the game of football just as much as I do.”
A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Booker was a freshman All-Southeastern Conference selection who became a full-time starter as a sophomore. He played for Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer and was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference for his blocking prowess.
“I take pride in how well I prepare for the games and prepare for stunts,” Booker said. “I’m looking forward to stepping up as a pass protection as well. They’re really interested in my leadership and how I would fit into their program. My response was I have to earn the right to lead. I love how physical it is, I put my weight, my body and my power on you. It wears out playing against Tyler Booker all day.”
The Texans are definitely in the market for offensive linemen after allowing quarterback C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season as the offense regressed significantly.
They met with several offensive linemen at the combine, including North Dakota’s Grey Zabel, Purdue’s Marcus Mbow, Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea, Georgia’s Tate Ratledge and USC’s Jonah Manheim, among several others.
A two-year starter for the Crimson Tide, Booker started every game last season. He is the top-ranked guard. It’s questionable if he’ll be available for the Texans’ first-round pick unless they trade up. He’s been projected to the Seattle Seahawks’ first-round pick at 18th overall.
In high school at St. Luke’s before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida, Booker was a four-star recruit who chose Alabama over Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State.
Booker learned a lot from Saban about what it takes to play the game.
It was great,” Booker said. “I love playing for Coach Saban because he pushed everybody the same way every day. The same way he would get on me is the same way he would get on Bryce Young is the same way he would get on Will Anderson, so he didn’t care about who you were. He was always going to get the best out of you no matter what it took.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.