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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — David Ash never doubted he would be the starting quarterback at No. 15 Texas.

Now that he has won the job, the challenge is keeping it beyond Saturday's season-opener against Wyoming.

Ash, who rotated last season with Case McCoy, won the preseason battle to take over the job without an "or" between their names on the depth chart. Coach Mack Brown announced the decision last week and Ash met with reporters Monday.

"I expected it," Ash said. "I worked really hard. The coaches have given me a shot. That's all you can really ask for."

Ash still has a lot to prove on the field.

He was 3-3 as a freshman starter last season with just four touchdown passes and eight interceptions. His completion rate was under 58 percent and Texas ranked 86th nationally in passing.

Ash seemed to be asserting himself as the Longhorns' No. 1 when he played every snap of Texas' Holiday Bowl win over California. Ash was named the most valuable player of the game after passing for one touchdown, catching another and not committing any turnovers.

But even with that game under this belt, Texas opened their 2012 training camp with Brown refusing to name a starter and he insisted McCoy was battling Ash for the job. Despite the competition, Ash said his confidence has grown as he's matured and had more time to learn just how to be a college quarterback.

"I can play football," Ash said. "I can play quarterback as good as anybody else."

Some of his teammates said Monday they thought the competition was close until Brown announced Ash was No. 1.

"For me, it was a tossup," linebacker Jordan Hicks said. "We had no clue."

McCoy, the younger brother of former Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, could still get playing time against Wyoming. Brown said McCoy and Ash are friends but Ash revealed little about their relationship.

Ash said both wanted whatever is best for the team. When asked if he said anything to McCoy after the decision, Ash said, "Um, not really."

Ash knows his play will be the focus of a lot of scrutiny. The Longhorns expect to have one of the best defenses and running games in the Big 12. Even a decent passing game could be the difference between another mediocre season and one where Texas again competes for the league championship.

Texas went Texas went 69-9 from 2004-2009, won two Big 12 titles and appeared in two national championship games behind Vince Young and Colt McCoy. The Longhorns are just 13-12 over the last two seasons, including a paltry 6-11 in Big 12 play.

Brown will have to hope Ash is developing into the quarterback the Longhorns need.

"The concern we had with David last year was he tried to make every play," Brown said.

Now he's making better decisions when reading defense and finding his escape routes, such as pulling back a deep pass into coverage to complete a shorter one.

"Trust your other players,' Brown said. "Drop it off to the back in the flat. He may score."

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins tackle Jake Long was limited in practice Wednesday because of a right knee injury he suffered last week.

Also limited were guard John Jerry (ankle) and linebackers Koa Misi (back) and Jason Trusnik (ankle). Receiver Brian Hartline, who missed the entire exhibition season with a left calf injury, participated fully in practice.

The Dolphins open the season Sunday at Houston.

HOUSTON (AP) — Andre Johnson is not a talker.

So when Houston's star receiver stood up and addressed his team on the importance of this season in their meeting Saturday night, the Texans took notice.

And on Sunday with Johnson's words fresh in their minds, Houston took advantage of four turnovers to get a 30-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins in rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill's NFL debut.

Of course, Houston's most veteran player contributed more than just his motivational speech, finishing with 119 yards receiving and a touchdown for his 39th career 100-yard game.

Arian Foster added two scores to help the Texans get off to a solid start in a season they hope will end in the Super Bowl.

"(He) talked to his teammates about his career and what he wants to get out of his career and what this team means to him," coach Gary Kubiak said of Johnson's message. "I didn't have to say a darn thing after that."

The 31-year-old Johnson is the longest tenured player on the team and began his 10th season with Houston on Sunday. He's coming off an injury-plagued year during which he played a season-low seven games and finished with just 492 yards receiving — the fewest of his career.

"I just told the guys that you never know when it's going to be your last time when you're out on the field," Johnson said. "I told them that I don't know what's going to happen and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to play this game. I was just basically trying to tell them that we have a great opportunity and we have to take advantage of it."

Matt Schaub threw for 266 yards in his first action since fracturing his right foot in Week 10 last year, and announced after the game that he had signed a four-year contract extension that will keep him here through the 2016 season.

Tannehill, the eighth overall pick in this year's draft, threw three interceptions in less than six minutes in the second quarter and the Texans made him pay for each of them.

The Dolphins were up 3-0 before Tannehill's first miscue. Johnathan Joseph made a nifty, juggling interception and returned it 36 yards. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Mike Pouncey gave the ball to the Texans at the 7. But they couldn't get anything going on offense and lost 10 yards before tying it at 3 with a 35-yard field goal by Shayne Graham.

Then J.J. Watt got to work, proving that missing most of camp with a dislocated left elbow didn't slow him one bit. He deflected a pass that Brian Cushing grabbed for another interception on Miami's next drive.

"It's something we work on; we work on it every day in practice," Watt said of knocking down passes at the line. "We do that ball drill. It's something I've been working on since college. I know I have long arms, and you can't get a sack every play so you might as well try to knock the ball around."

Houston's offense finally got rolling after that and the Texans used a 24-yard reception by Johnson on third down to keep the drive going. Foster gave Houston a 10-3 lead on a 14-yard touchdown run.

Watt did it again on Miami's next series, batting another pass by Tannehill, and this one was intercepted by Kareem Jackson. Houston threw to Kevin Walter into the end zone on the next play and Richard Marshall was called for pass interference. That gave the Texans the ball at the 1 and Foster finished it off two plays later with his second score to push the lead to 17-3.

"Anytime you turn the ball over, you can't be happy with yourself, regardless of how they happened," Tannehill said. "It's not good. You can't turn the ball over. You put your defense in a bad situation and ultimately it led to a lot of points for them."

Miami's fourth straight turnover came on the first play of its next drive when Glover Quin forced a fumble by Daniel Thomas that Danieal Manning recovered. Schaub found Johnson in the corner of the end zone three plays later on a 14-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-3 just before halftime.

Reggie Bush had 69 yards rushing and caught six passes for 46 yards for Miami.

Tannehill finished 20 of 36 for 219 yards. He made his professional debut on the same field where he played his last college game, leading Texas A&M to a 33-22 win over Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl last December.

Marcus Thigpen returned a punt 72 yards for Miami's only touchdown. The Dolphins gained only 275 total yards.

The Dolphins took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with a 39-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter.

Houston added two field goals in the second half to secure the win.

NOTES: Thomas left the game after his fumble. The team said he had a head injury and Miami coach Joe Philbin said after the game that he didn't have an update on his condition. ... Texans LB Tim Dobbins left with a neck injury. ... The announced attendance was 71,566, the second-largest crowd for a Texans home game. The record crowd is 71,585, set against Pittsburgh last Oct. 2.

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IRVING, Texas (AP) — Ryan Cook was playing against the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason finale only a couple of weeks ago.

Now Cook is a center of attention for the Cowboys, preparing to start in the middle of a restructured offensive front in the second game of the season this Sunday at Seattle. He was already snapping to Tony Romo and making line calls only two series into the season opener.

"He's really proven that he can learn things quickly," coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday. "He did a really good job in the Giants game. We hope he just continues to grow in our system."

After starting all 16 games at center for the Cowboys last season, Phil Costa dealt with back issues in training camp while Bill Nagy and Kevin Kowalski, two other candidates for the job, both sustained ankle injuries. Costa's only preseason action was 12 snaps in the preseason finale against Miami, the same game Cook was playing guard for the Dolphins only two days before being traded to Dallas.

Costa, who won't play against the Seahawks, got through only the first series in the season-opening win at the New York Giants before being sidelined again by his back. In went Cook, who had previously only gotten about 10 snaps with Romo in practice before some quick warmups on the sideline.

"I've been around for a while. I always prepare that way because you never know. You're always one play away," Cook said. "In that instance in the game against the Giants, I was three plays away."

Despite a 24-17 victory in the opener, the Cowboys were far from perfect. Of their 13 penalties, five were false starts and two were for delay of game.

There were plenty of reasons for all the pre-snap miscues. A new center was suddenly thrown into the mix with two new guards, and it was the first game for Dallas since the starting tackles switched sides. It was also at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against the defending Super Bowl champions and their standout defensive front.

"There are a lot of different reasons you can say this was a factor, that was a factor," Garrett said. "Obviously, when guys have more experience playing next to each other or playing with each other, your chances of success are certainly greater. But we've just got to get it right."

Their next chance comes against Seattle, 11 days after the opener.

"I was fairly comfortable. I still have a long way to go, a lot to learn. That's my sole focus here at this point, is continue to get better and improve every day," Cook said. "Personally, I have to get better and improve. I have to do better at communication and getting everybody on the same page."

Though the Cowboys like Cook's flexibility to play different positions, only one of his 40 starts his first six NFL seasons came at center. That was for Minnesota in 2010, when his other six starts were at right guard. His other 33 starts were at right tackle, including all 16 games in 2007.

Garrett said the team has long had an eye on Cook, a second-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2006 who signed with Miami last year after being released by the Vikings at the end of training camp. The Cowboys' interest became even more urgent with their line situation before this season started.

With the 6-foot-6, 325-pound Cook at center, the Cowboys are bigger in the middle. Costa is listed three inches shorter and 12 pounds lighter.

"A lot of times you target guys around the league, and you just don't have access to him," Garrett said. "We've been talking about him for a couple of years, and a couple of transactions, he went somewhere else or he re-signed with his team, whatever the case has been. We saw an opportunity to get him, to add to the depth of our offensive line with a veteran player who could go in and play at a couple of different spots."

Within 24 hours after getting back to Miami following the preseason finale, Cook was back in Dallas preparing for a season opener.

Now he's right in the middle of everything for the Cowboys offense.

NOTES: CB Mike Jenkins said he definitely will play against the Seahawks, though he didn't know how much or how he would be used. Jenkins didn't play in the opener after missing the entire offseason and all of training camp recovering from shoulder surgery. Garrett said Jenkins has "had some good days and we feel good about it." The coach said playing will depend on how Jenkins responds to practice. ... CB LeQuan Lewis was signed a day after being released from the New York Jets practice squad. The Cowboys expected Lewis to be a special teams contributor.

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