During his rookie NFL season, Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o made 61 tackles. But he also missed making 12 tackles.

Only two players in the NFL in 2023 made more tackles than To’oTo’o and had a missed-tackle rate higher than his 16.4 percent – Minnesota Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans and New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden.

“Everybody knows I kind of struggled in tackling last year,” To’oTo’o said on Tuesday, “and I think that was one of the biggest things I harped on this offseason was tracking angles and trying to get better at being a better tackler, so I think that’s been huge for me this training camp. Hopefully, it translates on Sundays.”

Tackling isn’t the only thing that To’oTo’o thinks has improved since he joined the Texans from Alabama as a fifth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“I think confidence is the biggest thing,” To’oTo’o said. “In this league, you got to be confident in everything you do, so I think my confidence has been consistent every single day. Just being able to come out, compete and believing in my abilities and what I can do and contribute to helping this team be the best team that we can. I try to come with confidence every single day. I got (linebacker) Azeez (Al-Shaair) to lean upon and ask for advice, and he’s been huge for me on that part.”

Houston signed Al-Shaair as a free agent this offseason after he started every game for the Tennessee Titans and recorded 163 tackles, fifth-most in the NFL, in 2023. Al-Shaair played his first four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers with current Texans coach DeMeco Ryans as his position coach and defensive coordinator.

“He’s been huge, man,” To’oTo’o said of Al-Shaair. “I give him a lot of props because he knows how it’s supposed to look. Physically, mentally, he knows what it takes to be a true pro, so he’s been a huge addition to our room. I tried to pick his brain as much as I could, emulate exactly what he’s doing – what time he wakes up, what he eats. I try to emulate everything he does because you guys have seen the success. He’s a great guy, a great leader for us and our defense.”

The Texans’ depth chart lists To’oTo’o, Al-Shaair and Christian Harris, another former Alabama standout, as the starting linebackers. A calf injury has kept Harris sidelined throughout most of training camp,

“Being able to have a year under my belt and then having another year added on, I think reps is the best teacher,” To’oTo’o said, “so having the reps I got last year, having the reps I get right now is only going to make me learn more, get more experience, so I’m truly happy about that.”

As a rookie, To’oTo’o played in 14 games and started six. He played 436 defensive snaps – 43 percent of the Texans’ total – as well as 192 special-teams plays.

“Henry’s been very consistent this time around,” Ryans said on Tuesday. “Henry has been a guy that our defense can rely on. He’s going to be in the proper position and be where he’s supposed to be, and he does a great job with Azeez when it comes to communicating, and that’s a huge thing in our defense of communicating and Henry does a really awesome job with that.”

The Texans play the second of their three preseason games at noon CDT Saturday, when the New York Giants visit NRG Stadium in Houston.

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