Field is set for Michael Irvin's Dallas Cowboys reality show
11:41 AM CDT on Thursday, March 12, 2009
There are no butchers, bakers or candlestick makers among the 12 finalists for the cable television reality show that will find the Cowboys' 80th and last roster member when training camp opens July 31.
The dozen dreamers introduced Wednesday morning at the Cotton Bowl are hardcore football types whose most recent experience has been in college, in the Arena Football League or semi-pro football. There are six wide receivers and six defensive backs.
The youngest hopeful is 22, the oldest is 30.
The show, 4th and Long, is the brainchild of former Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, who is serving as host and one of the judges. It is being taped at the Cotton Bowl and will be presented in 10 hour-long weekly episodes on Spike TV beginning May 18.
"The bottom line is that we have to deliver someone to the Cowboys who can play," said Joe Avezzano, the Cowboys' former special teams coach who is working with the show's wide receivers. "We can't waste our time with people who can't play."
Two Dallas-area defensive backs are among the finalists - Erick Jackson, 24, who played at Duncanville High School and Texas, and Eddie Moten, 27, who played at Lancaster and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The players are living in the Cotton Bowl locker rooms and training inside the stadium. They have been stripped of their cellphones, iPods, laptops and any other way of communicating with the outside world.
In addition to Avezzano and Irvin, former Cowboys defensive back Bill Bates, who signed with the team as a free agent in 1983 and lasted 15 seasons, is working with the wide receivers.
"I think we found some pretty good players," Irvin said. "Now it is up to us to prepare them."
Age: 24
Height: 6-1
Weight: 195
College: Texas
40-yard dash time: 4.47
Note: Duncanville High grad was a member of the Longhorns' 2005 national championship team
Age: 27
Height: 5-10
Weight: 185
College: Texas A&M-Kingsville
40-yard dash time: 4.46
Note: Lancaster High grad who played four seasons in the Arena League.
Age: 25
Height: 5-9
Weight: 185
College: College of New Jersey
40-yard dash time: 4.35
Note: Failed tryout for CFL British Columbia Lions
Age: 30
Height: 5-8
Weight: 165
College: San Diego State
40-yard dash time: 4.32
Note: Played semi-pro in Patti LaBelle Football League
Age: 25
Height: 6-0
Weight: 196
College: Tennessee State
40-yard dash time: 4.48
Note: Played most recently for semi-pro Mississippi Mudcats
Age: 28
Height: 6-0
Weight: 164
College: Oklahoma
40-yard dash time: 4.6
Note: Was a member of the Sooners' 2000 national championship team
Age: 27
Height: 6-0
Weight: 185
College: None
40-yard dash time: 4.5
Note: Returned six consecutive Arena League kickoffs for touchdowns
Age: 22
Height: 5-7
Weight: 175
College: Toledo
40-yard dash time: 4.34
Note: Was a two-way player in college
Age: 25
Height: 6-3
Weight: 216
College: North Carolina
40-yard dash time: 4.52
Note: Also played basketball for the Tar Heels.
Age: NA
Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
Colleges: Louisville, Tennessee
40-yard dash time: 4.48
Note: Played for CFL's Montreal Alouettes
Age: 25
Height: 6-3
Weight: 203
College: Seminole Community College (Fla.)
40-yard dash time: 4.53
Note: Played only baseball in college
Age: 24
Height: 6-0
Weight: 193
College: Wisconsin
40-yard dash time: 4.53
Note: Twice cut by the Kansas City Chiefs
