Former Davidson High School standout Jimmie Ward has earned a reputation through nine NFL seasons as a hard-hitting, tough guy coming out of the secondary, so he knows a hammer on the football field when he sees one.

During the Houston Texans’ preparations for the 2023 NFL season, Ward likes what he’s seen from rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who joined the team as the third player picked in the NFL Draft on April 27.

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“He’s a beast,” Ward said on Wednesday. “… He’s been making plays since we’ve been out here, creating pressure on the quarterback, and he’s a one-man wrecking crew.”

The third player in SEC history to earn unanimous All-American recognition more than once, Anderson recorded 34.5 sacks and 58.5 tackles for loss during three seasons at Alabama.

After joint practices with the Miami Dolphins this week, Anderson said opponents don’t yet view his game the way that Ward does.

“They sleep on my power,” Anderson said. “They see me and my frame, and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s probably just a speed guy.’ And then I – boom – I hit them with power as a counter, anything like that, so it’s just good to have that speed to power a lot of people wouldn’t think of my body type having.”

Houston defensive-line coach Jacques Cesaire likes something about Anderson beyond his speed and power.

“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around,” Cesaire said. “He’s always working, always just trying to get better, always trying to find that 1 percent that’s going to get him better. He’s in the playbook, film sessions, staying after practice. It’s never good enough for him, and that says a lot about a guy that had so much success in college. And now in the NFL as a first-rounder, you would think that guy can come in and not work as hard, but he’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around.”

Anderson said he has a no-plays-off mentality, even in practice.

“Every rep counts,” Anderson said. “Every rep is not perfect. Every rep is not good. Even your good reps, even if you beat somebody, that rep could have probably been better. So just always being kind of hard on myself, asking, ‘What could I have done better on this rep even though I won?’ If I lost that rep, ‘What could I have done better?’ And that’s just all about film study.”

The Texans and Dolphins will square off in an NFL preseason game at 3 p.m. CDT Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston. NFL Network will televise the game.

Miami came to Houston early to practice with the Texans for two days. Anderson said it was a good break and barometer for the Texans after battling against teammates in training camp.

“It was really fun,” Anderson said after Wednesday’s practice. “I think that’s all part of our growing and getting better – seeing different things. We been banging all camp, and getting to go against another team to see where we are as a defense, to see where we are as a team, it was great.”

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Houston has three other Alabama alumni on its roster – wide receiver John Metchie III and linebackers Christian Harris and Henry To’oTo’o — and Anderson played with each for at least two seasons with the Crimson Tide.

Miami has five former Alabama players – guard Lester Cotton, nose tackle Raekwon Davis, defensive end Da’Shawn Hand, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. But Anderson overlapped for only one season with one of them while with the Tide.

“I only played with Waddle, and it was good catching up with him,” Anderson said. “He was asking me how I liked it, and I was like, ‘Man, it’s way better than college. You got way more time to take care of your body and everything.’ And he was like, ‘I’m already knowing that.’

“And then Tua, I never played with Tua. That was like my first time really meeting him. Down-to-earth guy, really cool, so it was fun going against him today.”

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