- Messages
- 4,604
- Reaction score
- 0
Bryant on undrafted rookie receiver: 'Let's not write him off yet'
By Kate Hairopoulos
OXNARD, Calif. - During Saturday's preseason game with the Los Angeles Rams, Cowboys undrafted rookie receiver Andy Jones didn't live up to the buzz he'd built during training camp.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones had been among those to speak highly of Andy Jones, who played at Jacksonville, a non-scholarship Football Championship Subdivision program.
He was targeted three times Saturday, but dropped two passes, including one on first and 10 on Dallas' first drive in the third quarter and another on third and 1 late in the game when Dallas needed a first down.
It was already going to be a challenge to make the roster. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley are locks. Lucky Whitehead is also a threat on special teams, as he showed with Saturday's 101-yard kick return to open the game. Brice Butler and Devin Street are also in the mix. But all is not necessarily lost for Jones.
"Long ways from Jacksonville, isn't it?" receivers coach Derek Dooley said. "You know, it was a great learning experience for him. You can sit there and say, 'well, your technique here, your technique there.' The bottom line is learning what kind of faults are going in your head and learning to control them.
"I'm sure the environment felt big. It was his first game as a Cowboy, coming from a I-AA program, on top of that it was the first play he was in. We didn't just ease into it. Hopefully he got that out of him.
"He's got a lot of ability and we'll just see how he progresses."
Bryant also offered Jones encouragement.
"Not to make any excuses for him, but Andy is a darn good football player," Bryant said. "He was nervous. I understand where he is coming from because I was that guy, too. I was nervous too when I first got into the league. As soon as he gets the butterflies out, you are going to see Andy's a special guy. You're going to see something special out of him too. It was his first preseason game, let's not write him off yet."
By Kate Hairopoulos
OXNARD, Calif. - During Saturday's preseason game with the Los Angeles Rams, Cowboys undrafted rookie receiver Andy Jones didn't live up to the buzz he'd built during training camp.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones had been among those to speak highly of Andy Jones, who played at Jacksonville, a non-scholarship Football Championship Subdivision program.
He was targeted three times Saturday, but dropped two passes, including one on first and 10 on Dallas' first drive in the third quarter and another on third and 1 late in the game when Dallas needed a first down.
It was already going to be a challenge to make the roster. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley are locks. Lucky Whitehead is also a threat on special teams, as he showed with Saturday's 101-yard kick return to open the game. Brice Butler and Devin Street are also in the mix. But all is not necessarily lost for Jones.
"Long ways from Jacksonville, isn't it?" receivers coach Derek Dooley said. "You know, it was a great learning experience for him. You can sit there and say, 'well, your technique here, your technique there.' The bottom line is learning what kind of faults are going in your head and learning to control them.
"I'm sure the environment felt big. It was his first game as a Cowboy, coming from a I-AA program, on top of that it was the first play he was in. We didn't just ease into it. Hopefully he got that out of him.
"He's got a lot of ability and we'll just see how he progresses."
Bryant also offered Jones encouragement.
"Not to make any excuses for him, but Andy is a darn good football player," Bryant said. "He was nervous. I understand where he is coming from because I was that guy, too. I was nervous too when I first got into the league. As soon as he gets the butterflies out, you are going to see Andy's a special guy. You're going to see something special out of him too. It was his first preseason game, let's not write him off yet."
