It is still early in the process, but already a rather intriguing storyline has cropped up in our favorite team's offseason search for players. The Dallas Cowboys brought in a bunch of tryout players, and one of the ones they were impressed with is a 6'4", 316 lb offensive tackle/guard prospect named Edawn Coughman.
If you were like me, and went "Who?", don't be surprised. He played his college ball at Shaw University, an HBCU in Raleigh, North Carolina that plays in the NCAA's Division II. Based on the players who were cut or signed after the rookie minicamp, it appears that Coughman took the place of Aderious Simmons. He stood out at the minicamp, which is a hard thing for linemen to do when everyone is running around in shorts and T-shirts, playing touch football. Now, a little insight into the thinking of the team has come out thanks to our frequent contributor of things Cowboys, Birddog26.
Edawn Coughman adds a versatile lineman that can develop as G/OT with enough athleticism to fill a role as blocking TE/3rd OT gameday
— Birddog26 (@Birddog26) May 13, 2013
Suddenly, it makes a bunch of sense. Jason Garrett has a long standing fetish about multiplicity, players who can fulfill more than one role. Coughman is a triple threat. If he can manage to be good enough to earn a backup spot, he basically frees up two other spots. Designate him a tackle, and the team needs one less guard and tight end.
That is, of course, if he shows enough talent to handle the role. But even if he is really only considered good at one of the positions, he still is a bit of insurance depth at the other two. And I am really intrigued by the idea of using him as that blocking tight end/third OT. I could see him making it as a short yardage/goal line specialist, who might also be good on the O line for field goals and punts.
In his final minicamp write-up, Brian Broaddus (who was the first guy to spot Coughman, which is an example of why he gets quoted so freely around here), made a good case for Coughman having a real shot.
On Friday in my practice notes, I offered some thoughts on offensive tackle
Edawn Coughman who was in town as a workout player for camp. On Monday, the front office added Coughman to the roster going forward with the opportunity to make the club this Summer. What caught my eye about Coughman was how light he was on his feet for such a large man. At 316 pounds, he has the movement skills of a man in the 280's. There were several reps where he was either on the front or back side and he was in perfect blocking position. It was quite impressive to hustle to get to the second level and cut off the linebacker. In his pass set, he worked away from the line well, keeping a nice base while not get overextended or reaching for his man. He will need to develop some strength and power but there is plenty to work with just because of the athletic traits.
Since I found Coughman interesting, I consulted with my friend, the Google, and started researching him. Along with finding out about his college history, I found an article from our SBN sister site Sea Gulls about Coughman signing with the Seattle Seahawks last year. It mentioned that Coughman had been with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, but had gotten into trouble over a gun.
That gave me pause, but it turns out this was more a case of culture clash. A long article from the Toronto Sun detailed what happened. Basically, Coughman's crime was having a gun. Not using it, not making threats, just having it in Canada, which does not have anything like the Second Amendment.
In a nutshell, Coughman, according to his testimony, visited Montreal for some off-season training with Ted Laurence, a friend who plays for the Eskimos.
According to a report, Coughman, who was staying at downtown Montreal hotel, ordered room service.
The same report states that a hotel attendant noticed a pistol on a desk inside Coughman's room and then notified a hotel staffer, who in turn called 911.
This derailed his opportunity to play in the CFL in 2012, since the team was more or less forced into releasing him because of the way their CBA is structured. The legal issues have apparently been resolved, so Coughman is making another run at playing football, and should not have a similar issue, at least while he is in Texas.
It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this. Now, I, of course, have no preference in any way, shape, or form for any player on the Cowboys. However, if someone else were maybe still shopping for a pe . . . pe . . . one of those things I never talk about any more, this might be a player to consider.
And he could really do the team a lot of good.
More Cowboys coverage:
Dallas Cowboys Rookie Minicamp Recap: 15 Things We Learned
Cowboys News And Notes: Tempo Of Cowboys Offense, Sean Lee Will Be A Star, More
Cowboys Cut Two, Sign Three After Minicamp; Roster Builder Update
News And Notes From Day 2 Of Cowboys' Rookie Minicamp
News And Notes From Day 1 Of Cowboys' Rookie Minicamp