May 13, 2003

Alfonso Pugh Signs Three-year Contract with NFL's Houston Texans

Truman slot receiver Alfonso Pugh (Galesburg, Ill.) has signed a three-year contract with the NFL's Houston Texans and will leave on Sunday for a five-week camp. The contract will take effect once he makes the final roster.

Pugh spent last weekend at the Texans' minicamp, and worked out with the Texans' first-round draft choice Andre Johnson and first year receivers' Derick Armstrong and J.J. Moses. The crew spent much time with wide receivers coach Kippy Brown who put them through a series of cone drills and footwork repetition before fielding Dave Ragone air strikes.

Pugh is also being looked at on special teams, a segment that Pugh excelled in at Truman with four career touchdowns on returns.

"It went pretty well" Pugh said of his first stint at an NFL training camp. "The scout called me on the way home and said I did a good job, so that's all that matters right now. It was a good experience."

The Texans kept their rookies and first-year players to a strict time schedule. "The first day, wake-up was 5:45 and then meetings and practice from 10-12:30." Pugh said. "Then we would eat and have meetings from 2-3 p.m., then practice from 3:30 to 5:20 and then have meetings again until 10 p.m."

After this coming five-week camp, Pugh will report July 24 for training camp. "I am going to try to stay down there (Houston) the whole summer," Pugh indicated. "I think it will be a benefit for me to work with the coaches that extra time."

Pugh was joined in the mini-camp by fellow Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tackle Seth Wand, lightly regarded out of Northwest Missouri State until a solid Senior Bowl performance moved him up the draft boards. Wand impressed the coaches over both days.

"Seth is showing good movement," Texans offensive line coach Tony Marciano said. "He's picking up the system pretty quickly. And he's 6-7. We're guessing that doesn't hurt."

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