Nick Caserio has been at the NFL Scouting Combine over the past week preparing for his fourth draft as the Houston Texans’ general manager.

It’s part of a process before the picks that for Caserio also includes Nick Saban, who stepped down in January after 17 seasons as Alabama’s coach.

“Nick is great to talk to,” Caserio said during his press conference at the combine. “It’s similar to Bill (Belichick) in some respects. They have such a library and a history of players that you can benchmark against one another. You’re talking about two of the best minds in football, so I’ve had a number of conversations with coach Saban before the draft, not only the last year, but previous years, and his insight is very valuable and useful.”

Caserio spent 20 seasons working with Belichick in New England, including serving as the Patriots’ director of player personnel from 2009 through 2020, when he left for Houston.

In each of the Texans’ past two drafts, Caserio has selected two of Saban’s players from the Crimson Tide – wide receiver John Metchie III in the second round and linebacker Christian Harris in the third round in 2022 and outside linebacker Will Anderson in the first round and linebacker Henry To’oTo’o in the fifth round in 2023.

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Houston hadn’t drafted a player from Alabama since taking defensive lineman Jeoffrey Pagan in 2014 before Caserio came aboard. But with the four picks from the Crimson Tide in the previous two years, Houston has selected eight players from Alabama in its 22 drafts, tied with LSU for the most frequently tapped college program for the Texans.

Saban coached seven of the Alabama players selected by Houston. The exception is DeMeco Ryans, who just completed his first season as the Texans’ coach. (Saban also coached two of Houston’s picks from LSU, where he was the coach from 2000 through 2004.)

In the 2023 draft, Caserio chose Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud with the second selection, then swung a trade to acquire the third pick and used it on Anderson.

Stroud was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Anderson was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year as the Texans won the AFC South and a playoff game in 2023 after posting three victories in 2022.

“I think everybody who spoke on Will’s behalf and the way Will was presented, we saw that in spades, and maybe it was even better than maybe we even thought,” Caserio said. “We’re happy that Will is on our team. Henry did a great job this year, as well, kind of in his role. Kind of came in as a backup. He was forced to play in the middle of the year, I’m going to say Weeks 4, 5, 6, where we had some players that were injured, and he went out there and had some productive plays.

“Excited about those two players and their growth, and really from Year 1 to Year 2, and try to improve on some of the things they did last year.”

To’oTo’o played in 14 regular-season games, started from Week 2 through Week 7 and appeared in two playoff games as a rookie.

Houston has eight selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, starting with the 23rd pick and closing with three in the seventh round.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.