(SportsRadio 610) - Texans defensive back Tremon Smith was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in the team’s 30-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15.
"It means a lot being noticed by my peers," Smith told reporters Wednesday. "Just makes me want to keep working hard, to receive that same acknowledgment week in & week out."
In Week 15, Smith finished with 121 kickoff return yards, one touchdown, one special teams tackle and one tackle on defense, while also downing one punt inside the 5-yard line. He took back his first return of the day 98 yards to the end zone to give his club a 14-3 first-quarter lead over the Jaguars. The 98-yard touchdown return marked a new career long and was also the first score of his four-year career. Smith was the only player in Week 15 to return a kick for a touchdown and first Texans player to do so since 2009. For the year, Smith has returned 13 kickoffs for 303 yards (29.0 avg.).
He also played a large role on the special teams coverage unit in Sunday’s victory. In the fourth quarter in the midst of a one-possession game, Smith downed a punt by P Cameron Johnston on the Jacksonville 4-yard line that led to a Jaguars three-and-out and the ensuing game-sealing touchdown by the Texans’ offense. He became the first player in club annals with both a special teams tackle and a kickoff return touchdown in a single game.
"I know since I’ve been here it was excellent, and it had a factor in the ballgame," Texans head coach David Culley told reporters Wednesday. "That kickoff return that we had, that entire kickoff unit did a great job. They knew that this guy (Tremon Smith) is capable of taking it to the house. It just so happened that they got things blocked up real well. It couldn’t have come at a better time. And then the fact that our kicking game was good, Cam (Cameron Johnston) and Ka’imi (Fairbairn) both were doing their jobs. Our punt team coverage was very good other than the one time we missed a couple of tackles down there when we had them pinned back on the one-yard line when the guy put the ball up.
"But I thought that game, complementary football-wise, was probably the best that we’ve had since I’ve been here, especially getting the touchdown off special teams, because that was critical. We haven’t been scoring very many points. Obviously, to get points like that was a tremendous help, a tremendous psyche for our entire football team. I think that kickoff return had a lot to do with when we got the ball back right before half and got in field goal range and were able to kick the field goal, then at the end of the game believe that we needed to at least get five or six more yards to get in field goal range to make it a two-score ballgame, where all of a sudden it becomes a touchdown instead of a field goal attempt. I think our special teams had a lot to do with that. Our special teams was a big lift to our football team in this past game."
This marks the 50th time a Texan has been named Player of the Week in franchise history and the first time this season. It is also the 16th time Houston has won the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award in team history.