Texans sign Brock Osweiler

[rquoter]Astros' Correa and Texans' Osweiler get the H-E-B star treatment

Spoiler

For Carlos Correa, getting to play big league baseball for the Houston Astros - and then being named American League Rookie of the Year - was a dream come true.

For Brock Osweiler, signing to play quarterback for the Houston Texans - without another quarterback looking over his shoulder - is all he ever wanted.

Still, in Houston at least, superstar athletes can't say they've really, truly, undeniably "made it" until …

They star in an H-E-B supermarket commercial with Scott McClelland, the nerdy president of H-E-B Houston.

"We're thrilled to have both Carlos and Brock join the H-E-B family," McClelland said.

Correa and Osweiler join Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio and Texans All-Everything J.J. Watt as H-E-B spokespeople. In the past, H-E-B had Texans Shaun Cody, Antonio Smith and David Carr, and Astros pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte star in commercials.

"Carlos made a tremendous impact in Houston last year with his play on the field and the way he conducts himself in the community," McClelland said. "We felt he was a good match for us. He's a standup guy with a lot of confidence.

"It tells you something that when he was a kid growing up in Puerto Rico, he wanted to learn how to speak English so he could do interviews in America when he made the Major Leagues.

"We watched all the excitement that Brock created when he signed with the Texans. He's got a lot of character and when Houston gets to know him better, they'll see a real professional on and off the field, too."

Both Correa and Osweiler have long-term deals with H-E-B.

Correa will film three 30-second commercials next month with Biggio and McClelland. They'll start airing in May. Correa's pet charity is the Restless for the Cause campaign for Houston Children's Charity. Part of Correa's contract with H-E-B contract has the supermarket making a sizable donation to the charity, which provides beds for underprivileged children.

Osweiler's three 30-second spots with Watt and McClelland will hit airwaves in June.

Osweiler and Watt have the same agent, John Caplin.

H-E-B worked through Astros president Reid Ryan to land Correa.

Osweiler will have new surroundings inside NRG Stadium next season, but he's familiar with the area outside the stadium. His parents work for Ray Cammack Shows, the amusement and food company that operates the carnival for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The carnival sets up in the stadium parking lot.

The rodeo and carnival happened to be in town when Osweiler's signing was announced.

"Brock's dad John works for our safety department and his mom Kathy runs our human resources department," said Dominic Palmieri, boss of Ray Cammack Shows and the "Midway Gourmet."

"Kathy made a little sign that was on her window, 'Proud Mom of a Texan football player.' We're based in Arizona, and we've known Brock ever since he started playing for Arizona State University. He used to throw the football around with other kids of our employees. You'll never meet a nicer person than Brock."

H-E-B began using Houston sports stars in commercials in 2007.

"We saw an opportunity to position H-E-B as the hometown grocer. Our headquarters are in San Antonio. The other major supermarkets are owned by out-of-town companies. Until 2007, we operated mostly small stores here. That's when we decided to go big. Signing celebrities to do our commercials was part of the strategy," McClelland said.

Most of the spots feature McClelland, the noted thespian/grocer who usually plays the fall guy, the butt of the joke. The supermarket executive belongs in the cold cuts aisle - he's clearly a ham. No wonder, during his college days in Southern California, he worked as a guide on a Hollywood tour bus.

"I do enjoy them," McClelland said of the TV spots. "I wouldn't say my acting ability has improved, but they're fun. And the commercials are successful. We do focus groups and track sales of the products in the spots. Of course, it helps that I'm in the commercials with Craig Biggio, who's a legend in Houston, and J.J. Watt, who is beloved here. Plus, J.J. is naturally a very funny guy with a flair for acting and comedic timing. It was an unexpected joy to discover that in J.J. when we signed him during his rookie year."

McClelland's favorite commercial is the one with Watt lounging in his backyard, wearing a toga and eating Greek yogurt. Never mind that the ancient Greeks didn't wear togas. "We don't fact-check the historical accuracy of our commercials," McClelland said.

Little show biz secret: "In the commercial, I'm wearing a toga, too," McClelland said. "My legs are so skinny that the laces on my sandals, which were supposed to go over my calves, kept falling down. So we had to glue the laces to the back of my legs."

His scariest moment: "In one of the spots, J.J. is supposed to 'tackle' me. In one take, he tripped and almost did tackle me for real. It was frightening seeing J.J. Watt flying toward me. I saw my life flash before my eyes."

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