First in a series on the Cowboys' eight draft picks
Former Pittsburgh offensive line coach Tom Freeman was standing inside old Pitt Stadium in December 1999 when he first saw Rob Petitti, an unheralded recruit from Rumson, N.J., walk by.
"I'd never seen someone with a back like that in my life," said Freeman, who has been instructing offensive linemen since 1969. "He definitely passed the eye test."
After redshirting in 2000, Petitti, one of the Cowboys' sixth-round picks, started the next four seasons at left tackle for Pittsburgh. He burst onto the scene in 2001 when he basically shut down Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney, now a perennial All-Pro for the Indianapolis Colts. It was a sign of things to come. According to Freeman, Petitti (pronounced puh-TEE-tee) saved his best performances for the nation's top players.
In last season's 20-17 overtime victory over Boston College, Petitti neutralized Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who is being projected as a top-10 pick in next year's draft. He then held Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck without a sack or tackle for a loss in a 41-38 victory. Tuck was a third-round pick by the New York Giants in last month's draft.
"I just got up for those players," Petitti said Thursday. "I took it as a personal challenge, and those are the games I remember the most."
IRWIN THOMPSON / DMN
The Cowboys believe sixth-round draft pick Rob Petitti (left) can make the transition from left tackle to right tackle. Petitti, who could challenge for the Cowboys' opening at right tackle, must make the same transition that last year's second-round pick, Jacob Rogers, struggled to make. For four years, Petitti played with his left hand on the ground. Freeman thinks Petitti will eventually be able to make the transition.
"I mean he's practiced 85 percent of every drill we've ever done from the left side," Freeman said. "Now, he has to learn to punch with a different hand and the footwork is different."
Freeman, now coaching at Stanford, said Petitti continued to improve his first two seasons, but then leveled off as a junior. Petitti (6-6, 340) let his weight get out of control and was actually playing at 360 pounds his junior season.
"Offensive linemen are always a milkshake away from 350," Freeman said jokingly.
Petitti said his biggest problem was that he always ate late at night. Now, he doesn't eat anything after 7:30 p.m. and his mom has been serving him grilled chicken at almost every meal.
Freeman thinks Petitti's weight was the primary reason he slipped in the draft. But even when his weight ballooned, Petitti was still talented enough to get the job done.
"He was good in the run and the pass," Freeman said. "He just engulfed people, and they couldn't do anything about it."
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