C

Cr122

Guest
Dez Bryant makes good first impression at Cowboys' camp

10:10 PM CDT on Saturday, July 24, 2010

Column by DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News | dmoore@dallasnews.com



SAN ANTONIO – The way Dez Bryant burst onto the field 45 minutes before practice was scheduled to start was the first sign to how much this day meant to the Cowboys' first-round pick.

The way he lingered long after most of his teammates had returned to the locker room, signing autographs, chatting with fans and pointing to those among the 19,437 who chanted his name, let you know how much he relished the moment.

If you need still more proof to the emotional significance the day carried, it came earlier in a San Antonio hotel room. Bryant was thinking football when he went to sleep a little after 1 a.m. Football was on his mind when he woke up at 5 a.m.

It took three months, but it finally sank in. This was the first day he truly felt like a Dallas Cowboy.

"This is one of the best days of my life," Bryant said with a smile brighter than the diamond stud in his left ear once practice was over. "I'm on a team I always dreamed of being on. I get to catch passes from [Tony] Romo. And see [Jason] Witten. And see Miles [Austin]. I was watching these guys last year; now I'm part of the team."

Those players were watching Bryant on Saturday. So was owner Jerry Jones and a coaching staff that saw the rookie become the first player to take the field and the last to leave.

"I wanted to show everybody I'm ready to go," Bryant said. "I've been away from the game a long time, man."

This wasn't about the suspension that removed Bryant from the field for the final three months of his career at Oklahoma State. There was no revelation during those dark days.

Bryant has never taken football for granted.

Michael Irvin shares the No. 88 with the Cowboys rookie. When the Hall of Fame receiver shared a conversation with Bryant several months ago about how football was his sanctuary, Bryant knew exactly what he was talking about.

Bryant is passionate about the game. He attacks practice – the description offensive coordinator Jason Garrett used to describe what Bryant did Saturday – because of his love for the sport.

"Ever since I was a child, I always loved football," Bryant said. "I felt if you don't like football, or didn't play football, you didn't have a life. That's how I looked at it.

"I love football so much, I feel like I have to have it."

Bryant had a good day. During one drill, when the receiver runs straight ahead and has his back to the ball, Bryant slowed, contorted and caught a pass that fluttered behind him and to his left. He caught deep passes and sideline routes with ease.

You saw why, at the conclusion of rookie mini-camp in early May, head coach Wade Phillips said he could remember only a handful of players in his last 33 years who were as talented at their position as Bryant.

"I think I was being factual," Phillips said. "I'm not real excitable. I hope I'm analytical. I was just saying what I saw in the guy, and you don't see that very many times that a rookie comes in and a lot of people, including the coaches and players, say 'wow.'

"He's got that. He can do things that you just don't see a lot of people, even veteran players, be able to do.

"Now, whether he'll do it consistently ... we've got a long way to go with him. But I've seen just a handful of guys come in like him."

Not every moment was perfect. Bryant did drop a pass thrown behind him on a crossing pattern. After he made a nice catch on a comeback pattern on the sideline, Romo and receivers coach Ray Sherman rushed over to give him instruction.

"They were just letting me know to look through the route," Bryant said. "They told me it was a great catch, but to stay focused and precise.

"I feel like it's my job to impress the coaches and also impress Romo. I want them to believe in me. I want to show they can trust me."

That trust builds with each practice. In Bryant's eyes, his career with the team began Saturday.

"I finally believe I'm a Cowboy now," he said.
 
Top Bottom