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Dan Bailey's route to Dallas has been winding
Steve Hunt
FOX Sports Southwest
JUN 10, 2015 11:18p ET
http://www.foxsports.com/southwest/...bailey-s-route-io-nfl-has-been-winding-061015
IRVING -- It's really hard to call Dan Bailey an underdog anymore, that's just a label that doesn't fit someone who signed a seven-year contract extension prior to last season.
But the Dallas Cowboys kicker who is heading into year five of his NFL career in 2015, has definitely paid his dues and then some along the way.
It dates back to his days as a high school punter and kicker for Southwest Covenant School in Mustang, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City area school played eight-man football, which is an experience in itself not only to play but also to watch.
Back then, Bailey envisioned himself one day kicking in the pros. The only problem was he didn't know how that dream would one day become a reality.
"To sit here and say that I expected to be here, I would be being true to myself. You always dream about things like that but that becoming reality was obviously the last thing in my mind," Bailey said. "Me playing eight-man football, half the time we didn't even play on a field that we could kick on. It's been a crazy journey. There's been a lot of ups and downs along the way, but it's been a lot of fun."
His next stop was Fayetteville, Arkansas to walk on for the Razorbacks, who were then coached by Houston Nutt. But after he lost the starting job with the Hogs, Bailey, who was on a full academic scholarship, was told he would have to pay his own way...
Steve Hunt
FOX Sports Southwest
JUN 10, 2015 11:18p ET
http://www.foxsports.com/southwest/...bailey-s-route-io-nfl-has-been-winding-061015
IRVING -- It's really hard to call Dan Bailey an underdog anymore, that's just a label that doesn't fit someone who signed a seven-year contract extension prior to last season.
But the Dallas Cowboys kicker who is heading into year five of his NFL career in 2015, has definitely paid his dues and then some along the way.
It dates back to his days as a high school punter and kicker for Southwest Covenant School in Mustang, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City area school played eight-man football, which is an experience in itself not only to play but also to watch.
Back then, Bailey envisioned himself one day kicking in the pros. The only problem was he didn't know how that dream would one day become a reality.
"To sit here and say that I expected to be here, I would be being true to myself. You always dream about things like that but that becoming reality was obviously the last thing in my mind," Bailey said. "Me playing eight-man football, half the time we didn't even play on a field that we could kick on. It's been a crazy journey. There's been a lot of ups and downs along the way, but it's been a lot of fun."
His next stop was Fayetteville, Arkansas to walk on for the Razorbacks, who were then coached by Houston Nutt. But after he lost the starting job with the Hogs, Bailey, who was on a full academic scholarship, was told he would have to pay his own way...
