Chiefs corner Phillip Gaines is more confident as he heads home to Texas

Phillip Gaines is going home as a starter in the NFL opener, and the game can’t get here soon enough.

“Emotions are going to be high,” Gaines said. “But you have stay levelheaded and focused. You can’t be overtaken by emotion.”

Gaines’ eagerness for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans is easy to understand. Gaines, a 6-foot, 193-pound cornerback, was a two-time All Conference USA selection for Rice and as a senior helped that program win its first outright conference championship since 1957.

For the Chiefs, Gaines appeared in 13 games last season as a rookie and started in five. On Sunday, he’s set to start at left cornerback in a secondary that includes rookie Marcus Peters at the other corner and safeties Ron Parker and Husain Abdullah.

The Chiefs ranked second in pass defense last season, with only the Seattle Seahawks allowing fewer than the Chiefs’ 203.2 passing yards per game.

“We take a lot of pride in that, but you have to prove it every year,” Gaines said. “And it means we have a great front set that knows how to get pressure.”

Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, two of the NFL’s top outside linebackers, return to the Chiefs’ defense, and so do insider linebacker Derrick Johnson and end Mike DeVito after missing all but the opener because of injuries last season. The Chiefs expect to be even better defensively.

“What we have is depth at all the positions,” Gaines said. “We’re all starting to get comfortable with each other. We’re expecting great things.”

Gaines turned himself into the Chiefs’ third-round draft selection in 2014 by helping turn around Rice’s defense. When Gaines was a freshman, Rice went 2-10. The Owls went 10-4 in his senior year, and Gaines set a school record with 38 pass breakups.

“I learned there that hard work can pay off,” Gaines said. “We were bad my first year, and then we became conference champions.”

Gaines played at Judson High outside of San Antonio, and Rice was his selection over Mississippi State.

“Rice was a small school, but it was closer and I had a chance to play earlier there,” said Gaines, who studied economics and spent the final two years in the program as a team captain.

Like most rookies, Gaines had his ups and downs in 2014. He posted 20 tackles and four pass deflections.

“He was a rookie who came in and started off a little shaky, but you’re just coaching him up and see him get better and better every week,” cornerback Sean Smith said.

And bigger. Gaines will play at about 10 pounds heavier than last season.

Smith is suspended for the Chiefs’ first three games, which means Gaines and the secondary will shoulder more responsibility. They’ll face a Texans offense led by quarterback Brian Hoyer, who went 10-6 in games he started for the Cleveland Browns the previous two years.

“We’re ready,” Gaines said. “We’re expecting great things from ourselves, but you have to go out there and do it. You really can’t talk about it until you do it.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Chiefs corner Phillip Gaines is more confident as he heads home to Texas."