IRVING, Texas - Not since his senior season at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has Felix Jones been "the man."

You know the one - the guy on his football team that strikes the most fear in his opponents.

Now, that's not to say Felix Jones hasn't been feared since the fall of 2004, when he was arguably the best high school player to come out of Oklahoma that year. His speed, quickness and open-field vision strike plenty of fear within any defensive coordinator.

But Jones hasn't played the lead role in an offense for quite some time. Not in college at Arkansas when he shared carries with two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden. And certainly not here in the NFL, where Jones finds himself in an offense filled with Pro Bowlers Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens and even first-string tailback Marion Barber.

So clearly, Jones has to be frustrated that he has to keep sharing the spotlight all the time?

"Nah, that's not me," Jones said with a smile that always lights up the room. "I don't worry about that. If you work hard, you'll get your chance."

And Jones had to wait around for it Sunday in Cleveland, but he finally got his chance, quickly making the most of it.

First NFL carry . . . touchdown. The Cowboys inserted Jones in the game midway through the third quarter after Marion Barber suffered bruised ribs. With the ball at the 11-yard line, the Cowboys gave Jones the ball on a quick draw and the rookie tailback from Arkansas darted through the line in a flash before blasting his way into the end zone through a couple of defenders.

"That was special," Jones said. "It was fun to get a touchdown on my first carry, my first game. You'll always remember that."

And just think what might have been.

The next time the Cowboys got the ball, from the Browns' 49, Jones' took his second carry straight up the middle once again, and saw only the end zone in front of him, only to be tripped up from behind by a diving defender.

One carry, one touchdown is good enough. But two-for-two would've been quite a start for the rookie, the 22nd overall pick in last April's draft.

"I've got to pick my knees up a little more when I get into the open field," Jones said. "That's probably one of the biggest things I'll remember (from his first game). He caught me by the shoestrings."

While that would've been a bigger splash, Jones still made quite a first impression in Sunday's 28-10 win over the Browns. He finished the day with nine carries for 62 yards (6.9 yard average) with the one touchdown. He had a 22-yard run, and another 28-yard run called back for a holding penalty.

"I thought Felix played well," head coach Wade Phillips said. "He's played well in the preseason. He seemed to make a big run every game. They said, 'Well, that's preseason.' He's a good-looking back to me. Some of the cuts he made, he has patience when he runs with the football and when he sees the hole, he gets through it. He got through it into the secondary as well. He made one run to his right where he cut up the field and accelerated past two or three guys that looked like they could have made the normal tackle on some backs. But they didn't make the tackle on him.

"I thought he had a great first game."

And he did so despite getting no offensive touches in the first half. But Jones said he wasn't getting discouraged by the lack of playing time in his NFL debut.

"No, not really. (Running backs) coach Skip Peete told me to get ready because I would get time to play. That's all I was ready for. Just waiting my turn."

Waiting his turn is nothing new for Jones.

He chose Arkansas over other schools such as Texas A&M and Tennessee, not only because of the proximity for his family in Tulsa, but also for the chance to play right away.

However, Jones said he entered two-a-days as a freshman as the team's fourth running back.

But just like here in the NFL, it didn't take long for Jones to make a big impression. He ended up having a big role in his first college game, rushing for 137 yards and two scores against Missouri State, including an 80-yard run on what he said was his second collegiate carry.

Jones always took a backseat to McFadden, who was the fourth overall pick in the draft to Oakland. But it didn't stop him from racking up honors. Jones was twice named All-American as a kick returner, where he averaged 28.2 yards on 62 career returns and scored four touchdowns.

But Jones was a running back, too. Jones has back-to-back seasons of more than 1,100 rushing yards and was even named a first-team All-SEC running back as a junior, joining his backfield mate McFadden.

So as he joins Barber here with the Cowboys, Jones is certainly used to the setup.

"Marion is a great running back. I'm just trying to learn the game still and work myself in," said Jones, who acknowledges the advantages of entering the game after Barber. "They are waiting on somebody who runs with power. He makes great moves, also. With me coming in, it's kind of different because they are used to Marion's running style. (The defense) is kind of tired and I come in fresh."

That sounds good in theory. But just like at Arkansas, Jones might be good enough the Cowboys can't afford to wait that long.

"We had some other things we had for him, but we didn't get to use some of those," Phillips said. "The more he can do, the more we'll try to utilize him. But then again, Marion Barber is hard to take out of the game, so sometimes you are going to have to have them both in the game. We did that some in this game and are probably going to have to do it more."

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