Undrafted speedster Radway could catch on with Cowboys

SAN ANTONIO -- Jerry Jones likes to hint about players who might make the roster.

Reporters like to ask him to name names.

He usually doesn't.

But when Jones was talking about some of the undrafted free agents who have a chance to make the team, including a receiver or two, someone said, "Radway?"

The Cowboys owner said, "Yes."

That alone is a good sign for any rookie. But Raymond Radway is a rookie who has been playing football only the past two years, as a junior and senior in college.

And not even a major college. At Abilene Christian.

But he has size -- he's 6-foot-3, 193 pounds. And he has speed -- he turned in a 4.32 at his pro day and won a national championship in the 400 meters at ACU.

All the Cowboys needed to see was some pass-catching ability and the potential for consistency and improvement, and they'd be hooked.

They're hooked.

"I think he's done very well," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He's a big kid who can run. He's catching the ball well. He's picking up the info well. Don't get me wrong -- he's still got a long way to go. He's making mistakes.

"But he's really doing a good job in this early part of training camp, and we're looking forward to seeing him more and more."

Radway, 24, is just glad the Cowboys wanted to see him again. He went to Cowboys Stadium for "Dallas Day," the workout where NFL teams can invite prospects from their "home" area.

He couldn't hold onto the ball that day.

"First time being in Dallas' stadium," he said. "A little nervous."

He went home and wondered what was next.

"I just felt like that if I got another chance, I couldn't be nervous, and I would have to come out and do my best," said Radway, who drew two pass interference penalties, against the coverage of cornerback Mario Butler and safety Andrew Sendejo, in the Cowboys' Blue-White scrimmage Sunday. "I've just been trying to seize this opportunity and make the best of it I can."

The draft came and went. He went undrafted. The Cowboys called him back and signed him for training camp.

"I thought it was a slim chance they would call me back," he said. "But I knew if they did, I could show them that I could really play football. I'm glad I got a second chance to come out here and show them what I could do."

Radway doesn't have a big football background, and he says it's his own fault. He didn't play his last two years of high school at McKinney North.

"I would say my character wasn't as good, being a young adolescent," he said.

He stuck to track, went to ACU and walked on for football as a junior and senior. The coach told Radway that the best players would play.

"I figured if he gave me a shot, I'd go out and do my best," Radway said.

That philosophy is still serving him well.

Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407

This story was originally published August 7, 2011 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Undrafted speedster Radway could catch on with Cowboys."