In case you missed it earlier today, Texans linebacker Brian Cushing addressed the media about his recent four-game suspension from the NFL. I was at the press conference at Reliant Stadium along with at least 25 other media members from Houston and all over the nation, and Cushing spoke for 10-15 minutes to explain his side of the story. DeMeco Ryans also met with the media about Cushing's situation.

Here's my recap of what went down. From that link, you can access the full video of Cushing and Ryans' interviews, as well as a full transcript of their quotes from this afternoon.

Next up on the horizon is the first day of Texans organized team activities (OTAs) on Monday, May 17. It'll be the first chance for the Texans' nine draft picks and undrafted free agents to make an impression on their new coaches and teammates on the field. Stay tuned to HoustonTexans.com for extensive coverage all throughout OTAs, beginning on Monday morning.

We've been blogging from Reliant Stadium throughout the 2010 draft. Be sure to check it all out here on HoustonTexans.com.

Texans wide receiver Jacoby Jones joined SportsRadio 610 AM, the Texans' flagship radio station, for an interview on Radio Row here at the NFL Media Center in Fort Lauderdale today.

Jones, a New Orleans native who is close friends with several Saints players, sat down with SR610 hosts Rich Lord and Robert Henslee at the top of the 2 p.m. CT hour. Along with talking about the Super Bowl, he discussed Texans coach Gary Kubiak's reported contract extension.

Listen to the interview in a SportsRadio 610 podcast here. Also, listen to the podcast with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who talks about Andre Johnson and the Texans re-signing Dunta Robinson.

The Texans are looking to avoid an 0-2 start, and so are the Titans, writes Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. Wyatt notes that only 22 of 160 teams that have started a season 0-2 since 1990 have made the playoffs.

Per The Tennessean's Gary Estwick, the Titans expect rookie cornerback Ryan Mouton, a third-round draft pick, to handle punt return duties in Week 2. A Houston native who was a dangerous kick returner at Hawaii, Mouton has been out since suffering a high-ankle sprain on Aug. 18.

Two non-football notes: 1) To anyone who didn't see the premiere of The Jay Leno Show last night, I highly recommend it. 2) Rest in peace to Houston's own Patrick Swayze, who passed away last night at the age of 57. He had more critically-acclaimed hits, but Point Break will go down as my favorite Swayze film of all-time.

Brian Cushing and Mark Sanchez were prized recruits in the same top-ranked recruiting class at USC in 2004. Cushing, from Oradell, N.J., and Sanchez, from Mission Viejo, Calif., became close friends and lived together at USC for two-and-a-half years.

""(We were) very close,"" Sanchez said. ""His family would come out all the time and either stay with my family or get dinner. I know him pretty well. He's a great guy, a very good roommate and, unfortunately for us, a good football player.""

On the field, Cushing and Sanchez went 35-4 together. USC won three Rose Bowls in their final three years at the school.

Both players won a Rose Bowl MVP trophy, Cushing in 2007 and Sanchez in 2009. Both were drafted in the first round of this April's draft, Sanchez at No. 5 overall and Cushing at No. 15.

It's only fitting that they'll be on the same field again when they make their respective professional debuts on Sunday.

""We really grew up in that 'SC system together, and we're both really looking forward to this opportunity," Cushing said.

Cushing, who says he is fully recovered from the sprained left knee that kept him out of the preseason, has made no secret about what he's looking forward to the most: His first chance to hit his formerly off-limits teammate.

"In practice at SC, I was wearing that yellow jersey, so he couldn't touch me," Sanchez said in an interview with Newsday. "But now it's on. We need to be ready for his speed, his physical mentality and the way he can just unload on guys. He knows how to hit, so it's going to be an exciting game for him."

Sanchez only started 16 games in his USC career, but he has drawn high marks from Texans coaches and players this week for the poise he demonstrated in the pocket during the preseason.

""He's a real competitive kid,"" Cushing said. ""He's done a great job in his four years developing as a quarterback. He's in the perfect system and he's flourished. He's doing well already, which has surprised a lot of people, but not me. I expected him to do well. He's a great leader, and he'll be ready come Sunday."

The Texans' practices against the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday and Thursday will provide an opportunity for players from both teams to break up the monotony of facing their teammates for weeks on end, and Saints coaches and players are looking forward to it, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"Seeing a new opponent, a new face, it's always good to block a new face," Saints left tackle Jamaal Brown said in the report. "That's always good. We look forward to going over there, putting our skills on the table and just getting better."

The article also details the schedule for practices as arranged by Texans coach Gary Kubiak and Saints coach Sean Payton. Per the report, the two joint morning practices, which are open to the public, will be played in shoulder pads and helmets. The closed practice on Wednesday afternoon will be played in helmets and shells. Both teams will practice separately on Thursday afternoon.

Free tickets are available for the joint morning practices; click here for more information and to print tickets from your own computer. The open practices run from 8:30-10:45 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Just arrived in Kansas City with the team about two hours ago and finished going through the never-exciting process of setting up internet in my hotel room. Somehow almost always ends up being a painstakingly slow experience that, when finally done, results in painstakingly slow internet. But I digress.

The Texans' charter plane left Houston around noon and landed around 2 p.m. The team's traveling contingent, which includes players, coaches, football ops staff and media-types like myself, then made its way to the Texans' hotel, a cozy spot right near downtown.

Preseason or not, it's an exciting time of year. Coach Gary Kubiak has said over and over that this is essentially the regular season for backup players like Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman and Boomer Grigsby. For many on the roster, these next four games might be their only chance to play this season - or in their entire careers. And for rookies like Brice McCain, Glover Quin and Connor Barwin, it's their first live shot at the big time.

I'll be at Arrowhead Stadium tomorrow with the rest of our HoustonTexans.com staff to provide live, in-depth coverage of the game. Until then, be on the lookout for pregame features including a "Five Things to Watch" preview and a "10 Questions" interview with Ryan Moats.