Four Local Boys Who Grew Up to Be Cowboys
A veritable icon of the Texas footballer, Marcus Coleman was stunning local followers at Dallas’ Lake Highland High School. Back then, he was named all-city and all-district. Dallas football fans were happy to see him stay in town and attending Texas Tech. Success continued for the talented safety, and the future Dallas Cowboy started thirty-six consecutive games for the Red Raiders when not bagging all-conference honors in track and field. Coleman’s final stats for Texas Tech: 256 tackles, nine interceptions, four kickoffs returned for touchdowns, and six blocked kicks.
Coleman then took a circuitous route in returning to Texas after being drafted by the New York Jets in 1996. Appropriately enough, Coleman reentered The Land Of Football by dint of the expansion draft in a stint with the Houston Texans. Coleman was switched to free safety for 2005, where he’ll stay on the Dallas Cowboys D as a marquee free agent pick up.
Joining Coleman in origin and in the secondary this year will be Keith Davis, billed by Dallas Cowboys PR as the “comeback story of the year in 2004.” Davis jumped at the chance to join the Cowboys after going undrafted out of Sam Houston in 2002 – in fact, he’s jumped at the chance three times in his short career already.
From the Bearkats, Davis got as far as the 2002 preseason before being relegated to the Cowboys practice squad in September. In July 2003, Davis got himself into some bad old-fashioned Old West type action and received two bullet wounds outside a bar in – you guessed it – Dallas. Though acknowledging that Davis may have had nothing directly to do with the shooting, Coach Bill Parcells personally delivered the message to the media and the Dallas Cowboys that Davis had been waived in light of the incident, as Parcells “[intended] to have some pretty good citizens around here.”
Last year, Davis sought to show that you can take the boy of out of Dallas, but Dallas Cowboys fever never leaves the boy. After racking up four interceptions and sixty-five tackles with the NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder in spring 2004, the Cowboys were willing to give him a third strike. Davis became a member of Cowboy special teams that were numero uno against the kickoff return. Davis figures to see playing time in a safety position.
After the shooting, Davis was quoted as stating, “I really am blessed just to be here.” Now that Davis has kept his nose clean and shows no ill effects from the hip wounds, he can consider himself triply blessed to be playing football and to be a Dallas Cowboy.
RB Keylon Kincade attended high school in Troup, Texas (pop. 1,949). The small-town boy made much good as a youngster, winning letters in basketball and track, while earning district-level awards in football and basketball. Onto Southern Methodist University he went. As a Mustang, Kincade bagged 3,038 yards rushing to put him at number six on the all-time SMU rushing list.
Unfortunately, nothing much can be known of Kincade’s play on the NFL level, despite first breaking in with the New York Giants in 2004. Technically, Kincade was something of a Dallas Cowboy in 2005, signing to the practice squad after his waiver from the New York Giants in 2004. In spring 2005, Kincade played for the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe; at halfback there, Kincade ran up some 352 yards on 105 carries in the ten game season.
What we do know about Kincade is that Cowboy management decided him worthy enough to get his name inked on a three-year deal in January. As for the Dallas Cowboys at running back, the ‘Pokes are going young this year. Of the five top backs listed on the Dallas Cowboys roster, undisputed starter Julius Jones is the only one with as much as three years’ experience. Marion Barber, Lousaka Polite and Tyson Thompson are two-year men, and Kincade is listed as having one season of experience.
New acquisition LB Akin Ayodele has boomeranged to Texas Stadium a few times. Playing for Irving MacArthur High allowed Ayodele time under the Cowboys’ lights in the playoffs. And teen Ayodele actually worked as Dallas Cowboys ball boy and usher.
With the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ayodele played in sixty-five of a possible sixty-five games after drafted out of Perdue in 2002, and ran up four years of 100-plus tackles including a whopping 150 in 2004.
There is some concern that the transition change facing Ayodele may be tricky. Parcells has Ayodele slated in departed Dat Nyugen’s spot inside linebacker in the 3-4; Jacksonville ran a 4-3 with Ayodele outside.
Ayodele feels that with the Dallas Cowboys exactly where he belongs. At camp, he called it the proverbial dream come true, saying, “I’ve always dreamed of playing for the Dallas Cowboys. I’ve lived so close for so long. And you wonder if it’s ever going to happen. But I’m here and I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get started.”
Started with chasing that final dream of a Lombardi Trophy for those same Dallas Cowboys, presumably.
