Former SMU standout Wood trying to stick with Cowboys as a long snapper
For Dallas Cowboys rookie camp, the newcomers are stuffed into a satellite locker room adjacent to the veteran locker room at The Star in Frisco.
The idea being, no matter whether you’re Dallas’ first-round draft pick Taco Charlton or former Princeton free-agent quarterback Quinn Epperly, earning the star on the helmet isn’t a routine thing.
Curiously sitting in the main locker room this weekend, his name emblazoned over a veteran locker with blue-starred helmet in hand, was former SMU defensive lineman Zach Wood of Rowlett.
Wood, who was added to Dallas’ reserve/futures roster in January, worked in his second rookie camp as a long snapper.
So what are his odds of making the 53-man roster or the practice squad?
“I think they’re pretty good,” he said. “I’m much better snapping the ball this year than last, that’s for sure.
“But I played some interior defense in preseason last year and at 6-3, 255 and playing nose guard, I was getting pushed around a bit. They’re going to work me on the kickoff team as well and we’ll see what happens.”
Wood has added almost 30 pounds to his frame and clocked in this weekend at 6-foot-3, 282 pounds.
He didn’t record any stats in preseason last August.
Unseating 13-year veteran L.P. Ladouceur, though, has its ironies and its challenges.
Ladouceur originally earned the job when the team cut ties with Jon Condo back in 2005.
As the former long snapper for California in college, Ladouceur earned a Week 5 tryout in the Bay Area after the Cowboys stayed in Northern California with back-to-back games that season against San Francisco and Oakland.
He’s been around ever since.
But should something go wrong in that area, Dallas has a hole card in the Texan Wood.
Brown’s view
If it’s not what you know, but who you know that gets you an opportunity, then perhaps wide receiver Noah Brown can thank running back Ezekiel Elliott for the vote of confidence.
But getting in the door is one thing; earning a spot on the 53-man roster is another.
Brown, the Cowboys’ seventh-round draft choice out of Ohio State, was Elliott’s teammate in Columbus before suffering a season-ending broken leg as a sophomore in 2015.
“He definitely told me he was pulling hard for me,” Brown said. “One of the best things you can have on your résumé is someone that’s been with you and speaks on your game and I’m really appreciative of that.”
But now work toward a roster spot is underway as Brown and other rookies and free agents compete in minicamp.
Can Brown, a native of Flanders, N.J., make the roster outright?
“I think my strongest asset is my physicality and versatility,” he said. “I can be real physical in every phase whether it’s blocking or running a route and then I’m versatile as well, having played all the special teams.
“I’m just trying to find a spot and earn my role.”
It’s a long way to late August, but Brown’s already on the radar as a potential diamond in the rough considering his size and strength.
He’ll likely compete with veteran Bryce Butler for a roster spot unless the Cowboys can work a scenario that allows them to keep six receivers.
But with a strong running game and a need for depth in the secondary and the defensive line, keeping an extra receiver is perhaps more of a luxury.
Still, Brown’s numbers are intriguing nonetheless.
At Ohio State, Brown returned in 2016 with an impressive performance that included a four-touchdown reception game against Oklahoma.
He finished the season with 32 catches for 402 yards and seven scores.
This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Former SMU standout Wood trying to stick with Cowboys as a long snapper."