Cowboys’ Notre Dame alums cherish moment with Fighting Irish at The Star

Dallas Cowboys Zack Martin and Jaylon Smith are proud Notre Dame alumni so to have their school in town this week before the Cotton Bowl was a good chance to hang with some of their Fighting Irish brethren.

Both Smith and Martin visited with players on Monday night when both Notre Dame and Clemson teams toured the Cowboys headquarters and had dinner on the field in The Star. The teams play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“I worked their lineman camps in the past and worked out with them so I got to know some of those guys a little bit,” Martin said. “I just kind of ran into them. I got to talk to the o-linemen. It was pretty cool.”

Notre Dame center Sam Mustipher appreciated the chance to talk to Martin, who played for the Irish from 2009 to 2013.

“Just talking to him about life and what he’s doing now, we try to limit the football talk as much as we can,” Mustipher said. “Zack’s been there for me throughout my time at Notre Dame, coming back to practice, coaching up the younger guys, whatever he can do. That’s just the kind of guy he is. He’s been the same exact guy every day, and that’s something I feel all offensive lineman should try to emulate.”

Smith, who played at Notre Dame from 2013-15, hung out with the team a little bit too on Monday. Both he and Martin will be watching the game during their flight to New York on Saturday. The Cowboys play the Giants in their regular-season finale at noon Sunday.

“I’m looking forward to getting revenge on Clemson come Saturday,” Smith said. “I’ll be watching on the plane and I’ll watch the end of it once we land in New York.”

Clemson beat Smith’s Notre Dame team 24-22 in a rain-soaked game in 2015.

This story was originally published December 28, 2018 at 3:55 PM.