IRVING, Texas - Not long after the Cowboys decided to use a fifth-round pick on yet another kicker, it seemed more emphasis started being placed on just what else David Buehler could do.

Can he run down on other special teams units? Can he play some backup linebacker or fullback, two positions he played in junior college? Can he do this and that?

It seems everyone, including the Cowboys, have been trying to justify drafting him in the fifth round, especially with Pro Bowler Nick Folk already on the roster and figuring to be here for a while despite his minor hip surgery that will keep him out of action for the next few months.

With that, Buehler might even want to stay polished as a place kicker, in case Folk isn't completely healthy by the start of training camp or even the regular season.

But whether it's a temporary replacement on field goals, or playing on a few special teams units, Buehler knows kickoffs are why he's here. And he hasn't forgotten that despite fielding dozens of questions about him doing everything but kicking.

"Obviously I'm here to help out on the kickoffs. First and foremost, that will be my primary role," said Buehler, who put more than 55 percent of his kickoffs last year at USC through the end zone. "But after that, I'm not really sure where I'll be. It took me two years to become an actual kicker. Now to break out of that mold, won't be that easy."

And the Cowboys likely won't ask him to try, especially since Folk had surgery two weeks ago to repair a right hip labral tear. Folk had been bothered by the injury and was hoping it would heal this off-season. Instead, the Cowboys and Folk decided to have the surgery, which will prevent him from any light kicking for another six weeks. Folk is expected to return to his full kicking duties just in time for the July 28 start of training camp.

Speaking of health, Buehler isn't exactly 100 percent either.

The rookie kicker needed stitches on his right leg after suffering a deep cut in the May 2 collapse of the practice facility. But Cowboys head trainer Jim Maurer said he doesn't expect Buehler to have any problems kicking, even as early as next week's OTA practices, which have been moved to nearby Standridge Stadium in Carrollton.

The Cowboys are certainly counting on Buehler's booming right leg. With Folk, the Cowboys did not have a single touchback last year. That's something that Buehler not only expects to change, but dramatically.

"If I hit it well, it's going through the back of the end zone," Buehler said. "When we get to the new stadium, I predict I'll have 80 percent touchbacks. With all the intangible things, with no real wind factor, I think I can get to 80 percent."

That would be quite a difference for the Cowboys, but would also be quite a weapon for any team.

But becoming an NFL kicker wasn't always in Buehler's plans.

"I came up in high school and even junior college where kicking was my second focus. I could do it, so I was the kicker. But I played other positions. But my last two years at USC and even here with the Cowboys, I have to make sure that I don't lose my focus as a kicker. If I don't have that, then I won't be here."

Buehler, who pronounces his name "Bee-ler," said he's heard all of the "Ferris Buehler jokes," referring to the popular '80s comedy movie. And being a kicker at practice, he's seen his share of days off.

"I've gotten used to it. That's what I've been doing the last few years," Buehler said of the practices. "I miss certain aspects of the game. But I've sort of become a kicker. I'm here because I'm a kicker and that's what I do. But if I can help out in other ways, I'm all for it."

Some of those other ways will likely occur on other special teams units. Seeing that he is expected to handle the kickoff duties, Buehler can possibly work his way onto the punt coverage unit. During the rookie mini-camp, he worked as the personal protector, standing about 10 yards in front of the punter as the up-back.

Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was one of the victims in the tension structure collapse, suffering a broken neck that required surgery to stabilize his fractured cervical vertebrae. While DeCamillis is homebound, and the Cowboys announced Wednesday that quality control coach Wes Phillips will run the special teams meetings this summer until DeCamillis returns, it's uncertain just how involved Buehler will be on special teams.

Before his injury, DeCamillis said he expected Buehler to have a role greater than just kickoffs.

"The thing that makes this kid so unique is that he really is a great athlete," DeCamillis said. "I talked to (USC head coach) Pete Carroll after we drafted him and he loves him. He told me they would've used him more (on special teams) but he was their only kicker."

And the circumstances that led to Buehler being USC's only kicker were rather strange, and at times "very difficult" for him and his teammates.

When Buehler arrived on the Southern Cal campus for the 2006 season as a sophomore, he was the third kicker, behind Troy Van Blarcom and Mario Danelo, the son of NFL kicker Joe Danelo. Third on the depth chart was the reason Buehler played some special teams as a sophomore.

But by the end of that season, he would be the only kicker on the roster.

USC dismissed Van Blarcom from the team for academic reasons, a move that promoted Buehler to solely kickoff duties. Then, just a few days after the 2007 Rose Bowl win over Michigan, tragedy struck the USC team when Danelo was found dead after an apparent accidental fall, some 125 feet off a cliff.

Just like that, despite losing his friend, Buehler was now the only kicker for one of the top college teams in the nation.

"There were definitely mixed emotions," he said. "Losing a close friend and mentor in Mario . . . it was hard. But the year I spent with Mario, I learned so much about kicking. He taught me so much about it. I was confident going into the next season. Under the circumstances, I had no control and just had to make the best of it. They brought four other kickers in the fall camp. It wasn't handed to me."

Buehler not only won the job, but he shined, making 25-of-32 field goals and all but three of his 120 extra-point attempts in his two seasons as USC's primary kicker.

And his kickoffs never suffered. After having 18 touchbacks on 84 kickoffs as a junior, Buehler improved to a whopping 48 touchbacks on 88 attempts last season.

"There should've been even more than that. We had a few games where some guys just kept running it out of the end zone although it was seven or eight yards deep," Buehler said. "But obviously I had enough (touchbacks) for a team to take a chance on me. It's definitely a huge honor. Obviously, field position is a huge part of the game. These teams are so even that a lot of games come down to a field goal or something. So any kind of advantage like field position, is important."

While he admits that kicking has its own type of pressure, Buehler said getting to work with Folk, whom he met before he even attended USC, will be a great asset.

"I've known Nick for a while. I met him at a kicking camp when he was at (University of) Arizona and was an instructor," Buehler said. "I was just trying to get established and wanted to learn more about being a kicker. I learned a lot from Nick then and we just kept in touch. I'm really excited about being here with him. He's established already and I know I can learn a lot from him.

"I'm just excited to get back to work and start kicking again."

And anything else the Cowboys might have him do as well.

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