After the draft when the lists of UDFA’s were coming out, there was a name on there, Andrew Brecher, an offensive lineman from Harvard. Not that he stood out or anything, he was just another guy on a list of guys that I expected to be a body. He wasn’t on the level of UDFA’s like Danny Amendola, Darrell Robertson or even Marcus Dixon who has an unreal backstory. But when rookie mini-camp opened I kept hearing we have only one offensive lineman in camp, Brandon Hale from Sam Houston State. I kept wondering what happened to the kid from Harvard. Well, I finally found out. Dallas got in touch with him 10 minutes after the draft and he agreed to become a Cowboy and flew in for the camp and even had a nice conversation with Felix Jones while there. But all these guys had to take a physical and the Cowboys saw something in his X-rays related to a previous back injury he had and decided against signing him at that time. He since has been contacted by the Jets, and the Cowboys have not ruled him out totally if his back situation improves. Anyway, not a big deal, but I just wanted to clear that up in case anybody else was as obsessive compulsive as I am. One disappointing note, he could have been a contender for our all-quote team with Deon Anderson and Martellus Bennett.

"The Cowboys seemed like a good fit," said Brecher, who mentioned the presence of 26-year offensive line coaching veteran Hudson Houck as something that made America’s Team that much more appealing.

"And who wouldn’t want to hang with Pacman Jones?" he joked, referring to the troubled cornerback who was just traded to Dallas from the Tennessee Titans.

Ha! May the Pacman jokes never cease. At least he didn’t talk about Jessica.

Mickey Spags gives his review of the rookie mini-camp. 

The love for Danny Amendola at Valley Ranch. 

"I just can't wait to see him go against the veteran guys and just watch him work," Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman said after just the first day of practice.

In case you missed it, Matt Mosley has a long article on Felix Jones.

With the recent revelation that the Cowboys will be featured on HBO’s "Hard Knocks," a FOX Sports article from a few days ago came to mind. It talks about the pressing needs for teams after the draft. Here’s the Dallas blurb:

Pressing need: Preparing for the onslaught of media that will swarm Cowboys training camp if recently acquired cornerback Pacman Jones is reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Players and coaches will be asked ad nauseum about Jones in the upcoming months. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes that distraction is a small price to pay for a player of Jones' talent.

Possible solution: Jones doesn't say or do anything stupid if reinstated and fades into the background a la Tank Johnson. Of course, history indicates that probably won't be the case.

With HBO on board, the media swarm for camp just became much bigger and the spotlight will shine much brighter. Should make for good TV viewing but may not be the best thing for the Cowboys as a football team.

A short article on rookie camp darling Orlando Scandrick. 

"I made some plays," he said. "I tried to have fun and get better every day and I think I did that."

"What will dictate how much I play is how I adapt to the speed of the game," Scandrick said. "The quarterbacks are a lot better. All these receivers are good. It's going to take an extreme amount of film study and discipline."

Mickey answers some mail.  Short version: Fasano stunk and was about to lose his job to star of stage and screen Tony Curtis so get something for him. More Jones vs. Mendenhall blather, the secondary is improved but no one is sure what the rotation back there will be. And this statement on the ever-popular Roy Williams (the Dallas one).

Again, [Roy] Williams' poor play at times has less to do with his talent and more to do with his preparation. Camps is already working on that, I understand. And with the plethora of cornerbacks the Cowboys might have, pending Adam Jones' reinstatement, the addition of Zach Thomas and the continued good health of Kevin Burnett, Roy very well might be reduced to a two-down safety even more if he doesn't improve.

We’ve got more special teams return guys now than Jerry’s got money. DC.com explores the subject further. 

Here’s a weird tidbit about the Cowboys trying to sign UDFA’s. 

Maurice Purify wished the only bad thing happening to him Sunday was not being picked in the NFL draft.

Purify was under the impression from Dallas-based agent Gary Glick that he would be, at worst, a late-round draft pick. Instead, he was left to find an interested team along with a number of other undrafted former [Nebraska] Huskers. Only there was this little deal with the Dallas Cowboys and a potential free-agent agreement.

"My agent called me and I said, 'Go ahead with it if the contract is good,'" said Purify, the former Nebraska receiver. Purify could live with going to Dallas. Maybe this was meant to be. "We had something set right after the draft with the Cowboys and it fell through," Purify said Monday. "I guess they had a mixup in their organization and didn't know that they had signed a receiver from Stanford."

Mark Bradford got a ticket to Dallas and Purify another restless night.

Peter Schrager from FOX Sports. 

I had Georgia Tech DE Darrell Robertson going 57th overall in the second round. Robertson was not drafted.         

The myth is that it’s better to be an UDFA than to get drafted in the late rounds. Pat Jones, a former NFL assistant, says the reality is that it’s not, drafted players are treated better. Unless you’re a priority free agent like new Dallas cowboy FB Julius Crosslin. 

There are different levels of free agents. A "priority free agent" like Oklahoma State fullback Julius Crosslin, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys an hour after the draft ended on Sunday, has an advantage over other free agents.

"Unless you're a very high-rated free agent, someone you had a fifth- or sixth-round grade, they're just bringing you in to be a body for training camp," Jones said.

A short introduction  to new UDFA Andrew Brecher of Harvard.  

Harvard offensive tackle Andrew Brecher of Needham agreed to a free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Brecher was an all-Ivy League and all-New England selection in 2007, and was named an FCS All-American by the Sports Network after leading the Crimson to the Ivy League title.

Nick Eatman has a few more UDFA’s for the Cowboys.

Mark Bradford WR Stanford
Keon Lattimore RB Maryland
Andrew Brecher OT Harvard

The full list looks like this:

Danny Amendola WR Texas Tech
Drew Atchison TE William & Mary
Mark Bradford WR Stanford
Andrew Brecher OT Harvard
Julius Crosslin FB Oklahoma State
Dowayne Davis SS Syracuse
Marcus Dixon DE Hampton
Brandon Hale OT Sam Houston State
Keon Lattimore RB Maryland
Jay Ottovegio P/K Stanford
Daniel Polk WR Midwestern State
Darrell Robertson DE Georgia Tech