IRVING, Texas - About a month ago, just before the Cowboys took off for the start of training camp, I teed up five golf shots, aiming for the fairway, so to speak.

Two of them went way left in the tree and another is sitting in the bottom of the pond to the right.

Two more are hovering in the rough, and one of them has a chance to sneak onto the fairway.

Today, it's time to take my mulligans.

Ok, so nobody hit any golf shots. Metaphorically speaking here, just before camp I gave out my list of five under-the-radar guys who could surprise us all and would have a legitimate shot at making the team.

Can we say: Do over!

As I prefaced in that article back on July 20th, making this team won't be easy for any new player, even the rookies. Sure your first- and second-round picks are safe, and throw fourth-rounder Tashard Choice in there, too.

But after that, the late-round picks and, of course, the rookie free agents had an uphill climb. Even last year's practice squad guys, who are considered first-year players, had quite a challenge to stick around.

And so while I'm piling on excuses for you, let's just say I missed.

Of the five I picked, only one has a legitimate chance of making the 53-man roster and that's really only by default.

Mike Jefferson was not just in my top five, he was my headliner. I had him pegged as the guy who would take the biggest leap and make this team with no problem. But he had a rather quiet training camp to say the least. Not until that week in Denver did he start to make some noise.

And now, with injuries to Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback likely keeping them out of action for the first game, if not more, Jefferson has a realistic chance to stick around. To me, he's ahead of Danny Amendola from a wide-receiver standpoint, just because he has been here in this offense for more than a year.

Either way, Jefferson has to stick around beyond this week.

Another pick, Alan Ball, has arguably been the seventh-best corner on the team. Usually, no more than six cornerbacks are kept. There might have been an exception if the Cowboys could afford to go short at another position. But since that's not the case at receiver or offensive line, look for the team to retain just six cornerbacks.

As it stands now, Ball would be on the outside.

As for my other three picks - Alonzo Coleman, Cory Lekkerkerker and Junior Siavii - their chances of making it are extremely slim.

They all could end up on someone's roster, and the Cowboys would probably have some interest on the practice squad, but it's safe to say my picks were way off.

So, let's try this again. These are the five I should've picked. As it all turned out, these five actually did turn some heads and did surprise us all during training camp.

Evan Oglesby - Based on expectations alone, the cornerback arguably had the best training camp of any defensive player. It seemed like every other day, Oglesby was picking off a pass in the team drills. And every practice he was doing at least something to stand out. To me, he was on the outside looking in when camp started, but that didn't take long to change. Now once the preseason games got here, Oglesby leveled off a bit. But he's still among the top six cornerbacks. Maybe we should've listened closer when Deion Sanders said two months ago that Oglesby could play.

Orlando Scandrick - Never thought his chances of making the team were in jeopardy, unless he just didn't produce at all. And early on in camp, he wasn't showing up too much. But things have certainly changed dramatically for Scandrick. He keeps making plays every day - practices, games, both. Scandrick didn't like getting picked in the fifth round and he's had a chip on his shoulder ever since. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said Scandrick is playing "with a swagger" and he definitely likes it. All of a sudden, Scandrick has jumped from the bottom of the roster to possibly becoming a starter in the dime and nickel packages.

Julius Crosslin - Ok, so the fullback probably won't make this team, either. But Crosslin was near the bottom of the 80-man roster when camp began, seemingly behind fullbacks Deon Anderson and Ronnie Cruz. And once Anderson and Cruz got banged up in the Denver game, Crosslin got the final two and a half quarters of work. After that, head coach Wade Phillips said, "He's showed enough where we want to see more of him." For a rookie free agent fullback on a team that only keeps one fullback, that's progress. The former Oklahoma State player has a chance to stick around on the practice squad. Who knows? Maybe the exposure he will get in Thursday's game could lead to a roster spot on another team, too.

Rodney Hannah - The tight end spent all of last year on the practice squad and his quiet demeanor often makes him rather forgettable. But Hannah has started to make some plays here in the preseason. He's got five catches for 55 yards. Sure, all of it has come in mop-up time, but he's still making plays. You have to show up somewhere. At 6-6, 258, Hannah is starting to put his basketball-frame to use. Will he make the team? Not likely. Then again, owner Jerry Jones was quoted on his pre-game radio show before Friday's game saying "four tight ends." He didn't say the Cowboys would do that, he just mentioned it as a possibility. Well, Hannah is the fourth tight end on the roster, so maybe he will be playing for more than just a practice squad spot come Thursday night.

Danny Amendola - Ok, I took some heat from the fans for not putting him onto the list in the first place. My point then was that he was so over-hyped that I didn't think it was possible he could fly under anyone's radar. And for that, he didn't. But did Amendola meet expectations and actually surpass them? Definitely. And now he's got a legitimate chance to make this team. Is he NFL-ready to play wide receiver? I'm not so sure about that. But he's in the best of the rest, and with so many injuries and uncertainties at receiver, the Cowboys are now calling on the "rest." But you can say this about Amendola, no one has out-worked him or out-hustled him since he's been here. And at 5-11, 190 pounds, undrafted and low on the depth chart, you can't ask for more than that.

So, I would've been much better off with that group of five. I even could've put rookie safety Dowayne Davis in there. He's been a surprise who will likely end up on the practice squad.

But at least these five guys are either on the fairway or close enough. At least they're in direct line with the green.

Ok, that's enough golf analogies for today. No one will confuse my last name as being Price or Faldo. Wouldn't you know, my golf references have to do with mulligans, anyway.

But after a month of training camp and three preseason games in the books, these are the five guys that surprised us more than any other. These are the five that have the best chance of coming from the lowest parts of the roster and either grabbing one of the 53 spots, or at least hanging around on the practice squad.

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