The Houston Texans opened up their rookie minicamp schedule on Friday, and as expected, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. garnered much of the attention on the day.

Stroud spent plenty of time building chemistry with a few offensive players on the team, including wide receiver Nathaniel Dell. The Texans selected the former Houston Cougars standout with the No. 69 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Anderson tagged along with the other defensive rookies on the team, and they all took part in several drills during their time on the field.

During a press conference on Friday, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was asked to share his early impressions of both Stroud and Anderson. For the first-year Texans head coach, there was much that he liked from the two rookies on the day.

“First thoughts of the guys that we drafted and all the guys that work, they're eager to work,” Ryans said. “They're excited to work. They're excited — they're hungry to get better. And today, with the rookie minicamp starting, what we try to get accomplished is just for our guys to get acclimated to what we're doing. There is a lot of different communication, right?

“Simple things for these guys is getting in the huddle, saying a play call, coming out of the huddle. … So for us, it's like we're taking them back a couple steps to huddling, making sure they're speaking loudly in the huddle, offensively and defensively, and making sure as a quarterback and linebackers they are commanding those huddles. It was a good first day.”

Stroud, who was selected by the Texans with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is coming off of a potent three-season run at Ohio State, where he recorded 85 touchdown passes. On the other hand, the Texans traded up to the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft to bring in Anderson, who made a name for himself during his three-season run at Alabama.

Day 2 of Houston’s rookie minicamp schedule is set for Saturday.