Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o has noted the practices at his first NFL training camp aren’t the same as the ones he experienced at Alabama.

“It’s totally different, I ain’t going to lie,” To’oTo’o said. “We don’t play no music at coach (Nick) Saban. We out there full pads every day.

“But it’s hard-nosed, and I think that’s what coach Saban instilled in a lot of players is hard-nosed football. I’m truly grateful for him. He helped me to get where I’m at today. I’m blessed.”

MORE NFL:

· FORMER ALABAMA PREP QB FOLLOWING IN JULIAN EDELMAN’S FOOTSTEPS IN NEW ENGLAND

· HUNTSVILLE’S TREY FLOWERS REUNITES WITH PATRIOTS

· FROM DEMARCUS WARE TO DEVONTA SMITH: THE 46 ‘TOP 100 PLAYERS’ WITH ALABAMA FOOTBALL ROOTS

To’oTo’o played his first two college seasons at Tennessee before transferring to the Crimson Tide for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. The linebacker figures his two seasons with Alabama prepared him to make the transition to the NFL after the Texans drafted him in the fifth round on April 29.

“We ran a lot of complex stuff at Alabama,” To’oTo’o said, “so I think that coach Saban and coach Pete Golding kind of primed me in a scheme in college to where in the NFL I can just come in and kind of adjust on the fly.

“It’s a lot you have to process as a linebacker. You got to see things before it happens. You got to know what kind of formation, if the lineman is sitting heavy or sitting light, if you’re going to get a pass, there’s a lot of things you got to take in. But it just comes with repetition, and I think that’s what training camp’s for.”

Also new to Houston this season is head coach DeMeco Ryans. The former Alabama All-American linebacker took the reins for the Texans after working as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator.

“Henry is in a really good spot for us right now,” Ryans said. “He’s improving. He’s doing a really good job of communicating the defense, and we ask a lot of the Mike linebacker to communicate on defense, and Henry has done a really nice job of stepping in, making that communication and he’s improving each day.

“I’m pleased with where Henry is.”

The Texans’ first depth chart of the preseason shows To’oTo’o as the backup at middle linebacker to Denzel Perryman, an eight-year veteran who earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2021, when he made 154 tackles for the Las Vegas Raiders.

“There’s always, always room to improve, so I think that’ s my biggest thing,” To’oTo’o said. “Where I look at things, for every good there’s a bad, so I try to approach it that way. No matter how many good things I have, I try to work on all my bad things, so that’s how I approach it.”

Houston reunited To’oTo’o with Christian Harris, a 2022 third-round draft pick from Alabama who is the Texans’ starter at weakside linebacker.

“Chris is my dog,” To’oTo’o said. “If y’all didn’t know, Chris was my best friend in college, so we went together, ate food together, went out to do stuff after the games together, played games together, so being able to play with him side-by-side, getting reps out there with him again feels great. Just kind of building that chemistry, but not only with him, but our whole entire linebacker group. We got a great group of guys in there, and we all work our tails off every single day to become, ultimately, the best linebacker group in the NFL.”

RELATED: CHRISTIAN HARRIS’ ‘GOD-GIVEN ABILITY’ IMPRESSES DEMECO RYANS

To’oTo’o said he saw some parallels between his transfer to Alabama and his arrival in the NFL.

“Earning trust in guys, I think that’s the biggest thing,” To’oTo’o said. “You go from group to group to group, and every group has a different bond, every group has different lingos with how we communicate with each other, so I think that’s the biggest thing in building each other’s trust.

“If I can get these guys to trust me on how I work and how I communicate and how I go about my business, I think there’s great things coming ahead.”

To’oTo’o is in line to make his pro debut when Houston opens its three-game preseason schedule against the New England Patriots at 6 p.m. CDT Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. NFL Network will televise the game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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