Jaylon Smith has a deep admiration for Dallas Cowboys History

There was a lot of history being celebrated on Thursday night as the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New Orleans Saints (it never stops sounding wonderful).

Prior to kickoff the team brought out the 1993 squad that won Super Bowl XXVIII. Can you believe it’s been 25 years? At halftime the GOAT, Gil Brandt, was immortalized in the team’s Ring of Honor, an achievement that’s long been deserved.

All of this came a week after, on Thanksgiving Day, Jaylon Smith wore a Chuck Howley jersey during warmups. Smith said at the time that he wanted to pay respect to one of the greater legends to wear the same number that he does and honestly that’s awesome. When we root for players on our favorite teams we want to believe that they are as invested as us, that they care as much as us. Smith appears to be one of those special types.

After the game I asked Jaylon about what it meant to get the win that the Cowboys did on a night with so much being celebrated. His admiration for the franchise is quite evident.

Jaylon: It’s so special because of all the rich history that’s come through this Cowboys generation and team. You have to pay homage, but you also have to live up to these great expectations. You know these numbers that are given, for me number 54 was given to me, so I’ve got a lot of shoes to fill with Chuck Howley and Randy White. I believe I’m making them proud.

You can listen to the conversation on our sounds from the locker room episode of OchoLive right here!

There’s no question that the Cowboys have someone very special on their hands in Jaylon Smith. What he’s been through, what he’s overcome, what he’s doing now... it’s hard to believe it’s real. He is the right kind of guy in every definition of the term and one of the easier Dallas Cowboys to root for.