IRVING, Texas - While the Cowboys can only bring in 30 college prospects as national visits, there are no such rules for area standouts who fit the NFL's criteria for the local workouts. For the Cowboys, the annual event is simply known as "Dallas Day" and Thursday more than 50 players from either local colleges or high schools came to Valley Ranch for a workout for the club's coaches and scouts.
NFL rules allow the workout to include players who attended college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, mostly including TCU and SMU. Players from other colleges outside of the area can participate in Dallas Day if they played high school ball in the DFW area.
Among the some half-hundred players in attendance, a few well-known quarterbacks in this area were on hand, including SMU's Garrett Gilbert, who started his career at Texas. TCU's Casey Pachall and Missouri's James Franklin were also among the quarterbacks working out.
Other recognizable names include Texas wide receiver Mike Davis and Texas A&M running back Ben Molina and Kansas running back James Sims. [embedded_ad]
Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, the son of former Cowboys standout Jim Jeffcoat, starred at nearby Plano West, a school that would certainly be in the range for the workout. However, with Jim Jeffcoat now coaching at Colorado, the family has since moved to Boulder and the Longhorns DE now doesn't qualify, according to NFL rules.
In the past, the Cowboys have had some success with players from Dallas Day. In 2012, former SMU wide receiver Cole Beasley and current running back Lance Dunbar were Dallas-Day standouts. A year earlier, running back Phillip Tanner, who is now an unrestricted free agent, excelled at the workout.
Ten years ago, the Cowboys drafted a pair of seventh-rounders who starred at Dallas Day in wide receiver Patrick Crayton and cornerback Jacques Reeves.
