The Houston Texans look to have a promising future ahead behind their promising young quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Watson saw his impressive first year come to an abrupt end with an ACL Tear in practice in early November. Since then, he has been on the mend from the injury. On Thursday, head coach Bill O'Brien revealed that the 22-year-old is ahead of schedule in his recovery, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.

“He's working hard to get back and I know he's ahead of schedule,” O'Brien said. “I'm hoping … that he can at least maybe participate in 7-on-7 [drills]. Maybe not team drills, but [maybe] he can do 7-on-7s or one-on-ones and things like that. But we'll see.”

This is an encouraging sign given the significance of the injury that he suffered. The original timetable for a full recovery was between eight-to-nine months, which would allow him to be ready for training camp. The fact that he's ahead of the projected schedule should erase any doubt of this injury possibly lingering into the preseason or further.

At the same time, the Texans don't want to rush the recovery and cause a setback. The organization has placed the future of the franchise on his shoulders with the hope that he can become their franchise quarterback for the next decade-plus.

Watson demonstrated much promise in his brief time on the field as the starter this past season. He threw for 1,699 yards in seven appearances, and his 19 touchdown passes were tied for the most in the NFL at the time of his injury (they also set a rookie franchise record for the Texans).

In fact, those 19 passing touchdowns are the most recorded in a quarterback's first seven career games since 1970, topping Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. This helped him become the first rookie quarterback to capture the AFC Offensive Player of the Month honor, and he was also named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month in October.