Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
In tracking down some of the folks who know Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones the best, I was amazed at some of the stories they told. You can read my column on the former Arkansas player by clicking on this link.
It's hard to imagine a Tulsa high school star who rushed for over 2,000 yards and 48 touchdowns escaping the state of Oklahoma, but then few people are as persuasive as former Razorbacks head coach Houston Nutt.
Jones turned down a scholarship to Oklahoma State because the school waited too long to show interest. He ended up choosing Arkansas over Texas A&M, in part because of his strong relationship with Nutt's younger brother, Danny, who served as the Arkansas running backs coach at the time.
He only caught 39 passes during his three years in Fayetteville, but the Cowboys plan to use him quite a bit in the passing game. His college coaches talked about how he occasionally dropped passes in practice, but never once dropped a ball in the game.
"He's one of those kids that played big when we were facing the best schools in the conference," Nutt said. "I knew he was going to be special from the first time we faced a big-time school his freshman year."
My column mentions the fact that Jones will forever be linked to Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall, who was taken after Jones despite being projected by experts as a better running back. According to my radio colleague Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Cowboys actually had Mendenhall ranked ahead of Jones on their draft board. But when the time came to pull the trigger, Jerry thought Felix would complement Marion Barber better than Mendenhall.
After talking things over with Jerry this weekend, it's obvious that his ties to Arkansas played a large role in the decision. He spent hours talking to former Razorbacks coach and athletic director Frank Broyles and hired Nutt's defensive coordinator Reggie Herring to coach linebackers in Dallas. Jones also has a great admiration for former Cowboys quarterbacks coach and Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee, who has joined Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano in Miami.
Lee is largely responsible for coming up with the Wild Hog formation that featured both Darren McFadden and Jones. In the end, Jones was simply a better fit for the Cowboys.
