News: BR: La'el Collins to Cowboys: Top Takeaways from Undrafted OT's Press Conference

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After going undrafted amid an investigation surrounding the murder of his ex-girlfriend and her unborn child in which authorities never named him a suspect but did question him, former LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins signed with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.

The team unveiled its new signing at a press conference and passed along this image on its official Twitter account:

General manager Jerry Jones was visibly excited about his new signing, per Joe Trahan of WFAA-TV:

Jones also seemed excited about giving Collins a moment in the spotlight after other teams passed over him in the draft, per Desmond Purnell of the NFL Network:

It was clearly a very emotional day for Collins given the ordeal he's been through, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted:

After learning of the tragic death of a former girlfriend and then on top of that losing millions of dollars and not being drafted had to have been an extremely trying time for Collins. He noted that he leaned heavily on his mother, and even Jones was feeling emotional during the presser, per Trahan:

Collins also spoke of his faith, per Connor Orr of NFL.com:

And he said he didn't allow the circumstances to change his outlook on life, per Trahan:

There was also the matter of talking about his specific opportunity to play for the Cowboys, and Collins quickly dispelled any notion that he might be intimidated about playing for a team like Dallas or not up to the challenge of fighting for a spot on the team's already very strong offensive line, per Around the NFL:

He clearly was excited about the opportunity, per Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News:

Not only that, but he's set lofty goals for his new teammates on the line, as Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News passed along:

He even managed to sneak in a few jokes, per Juan Kincaid of Fox 8 WVUE:

While it seems that Collins will compete for the starting left guard position in Dallas in his rookie season, head coach Jason Garrett wasn't ready to limit him to just one possible position next year, per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

And so Collins is a Cowboy, giving the team three first-round talents despite its having just one pick in the round after it selected cornerback Byron Jones in the first round and Randy Gregory—the extremely talented outside linebacker who tested positive for marijuana before the NFL Scouting Combine, dropping him down the draft board—in the second round.

Indeed, Collins steps into an incredibly talented offensive line and arguably makes it even better from Day 1, likely making it the best in the league. If he lives up to his potential, the Cowboys could have the sort of mauling, physically dominant line they had in the early '90s, when they won three Super Bowls under Jimmy Johnson and then Barry Switzer.

For now, however, Collins is probably just relieved to have a team to call his own.





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