Former American Christian standout Kamari Lassiter has been a starter from Game 1 with the Houston Texans, who chose him from Georgia in the second round of the NFL Draft on April 26.
On Sunday night, Lassiter was having the biggest game of his brief career when he had to leave the field with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter against the Detroit Lions.
At that point, Houston had a 10-point lead and Lassiter had two interceptions. But after the rookie cornerback left to be evaluated for a concussion and did not return, Detroit rallied for a 26-23 victory.
The rookie made the second interception of his career at the Houston 2-yard line on a long throw by Detroit quarterback Jared Goff on the final play of the first half.
Lassiter then intercepted Goff’s first pass of the second half, too, at the Texans 1-yard line.
Lassiter was among the 30 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the 10th Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.
Six other former state players were involved in the Detroit-Houston game:
Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) was designated as a game-day inactive. Collins had missed the previous four games on injured reserve and returned to practice on Friday.
Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Dell had five receptions for 39 yards and one rushing attempt that lost 6 yards.
Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) started at right offensive tackle for the Texans.
Lions defensive tackle Brodric Martin (Northridge, North Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible play.
Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) was designated as a game-day inactive. Smith joined Detroit in a trade on Tuesday and had practiced only once with the team.
Jimmie Ward (Davidson) started at safety for the Texans. Ward made five tackles and intercepted a pass after missing the previous four games with a groin injury. Ward’s first interception of the season and ninth of his career ended Houston’s first possession at the Detroit 33-yard line and set up a Texans’ touchdown.
