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Valley Ranch Memories: Russell Maryland
http://www.5pointsblue.com/valley-ranch-memories-russell-maryland/
On the movement to move to their new world headquarters at The Star in Frisco, we’ve asked players and coaches, current and former, to share their favorite Valley Ranch stories/memories.
Russell Maryland, the #1 overall pick of the 1991 NFL Draft, was a star defensive tackle for a Cowboys team that won three Super Bowl rings in the 1990’s.
RUSSELL MARYLAND: “My first time at Valley Ranch was my introductory press conference after I was drafted. I didn’t have a pre-draft visit or anything like that.”
“We caught the first flight available after I got picked. It was late evening, early nightfall. I came into the building and walked these same hallways. The first person I remember seeing was Coach (Dave) Campo coming to shake my hand. Then I saw Coach (Butch) Davis and Coach (Dave) Wannstedt. They all shook my hand, including Coach (Hubbard) Alexander and Coach (Joe) Brodsky. We were all Miami guys. They coached at The University of Miami when I started playing there. Seeing all those Miami guys, it’s like I was home again.”
“That was one of my favorite memories, seeing them on my first trip to Valley Ranch. Then I walked into Jerry Jones’ office. He was in there waiting for me to arrive. Coach Jimmy Johnson (who also coached Russell when he played at Miami) was there. We were all smiles. My family was there with me including my mom, my dad, and my aunt. It was a neat deal because my family was surrounding me.”
“Mr. Jones was all smiles, too. He was as happy as I was. It was great. I signed on the dotted line. Then the next day I got to work.”
“I remember my locker was in the corner of the locker room with all the defensive linemen. Godfrey Myles’ locker was next to mine. On the other side were Leon Lett and Tony Tolbert. On the opposite side of the locker room were the other rookie draft picks. Alvin Harper (also drafted in the 1st round by the Cowboys in 1991) was over on that side with the wide receivers. Those guys were all talk.”
“That’s what I remember about the receivers. They would talk every morning. I was thinking, ‘Will those guys ever shut up?’ It was Alvin, Michael Irvin, and K-Mart (Kelvin Martin). They were like the Three Amigos.”
“For the first practice at Valley Ranch, I remember going very early out to the field and nobody else was out there. I thought, ‘I am going to run some 110s because I knew what the running test was going to be. I wanted to christen the field as if to say, ‘This is going to be my workspace’. I wanted to be prepared to start my NFL career.”
http://www.5pointsblue.com/valley-ranch-memories-russell-maryland/
On the movement to move to their new world headquarters at The Star in Frisco, we’ve asked players and coaches, current and former, to share their favorite Valley Ranch stories/memories.
Russell Maryland, the #1 overall pick of the 1991 NFL Draft, was a star defensive tackle for a Cowboys team that won three Super Bowl rings in the 1990’s.
RUSSELL MARYLAND: “My first time at Valley Ranch was my introductory press conference after I was drafted. I didn’t have a pre-draft visit or anything like that.”
“We caught the first flight available after I got picked. It was late evening, early nightfall. I came into the building and walked these same hallways. The first person I remember seeing was Coach (Dave) Campo coming to shake my hand. Then I saw Coach (Butch) Davis and Coach (Dave) Wannstedt. They all shook my hand, including Coach (Hubbard) Alexander and Coach (Joe) Brodsky. We were all Miami guys. They coached at The University of Miami when I started playing there. Seeing all those Miami guys, it’s like I was home again.”
“That was one of my favorite memories, seeing them on my first trip to Valley Ranch. Then I walked into Jerry Jones’ office. He was in there waiting for me to arrive. Coach Jimmy Johnson (who also coached Russell when he played at Miami) was there. We were all smiles. My family was there with me including my mom, my dad, and my aunt. It was a neat deal because my family was surrounding me.”
“Mr. Jones was all smiles, too. He was as happy as I was. It was great. I signed on the dotted line. Then the next day I got to work.”
“I remember my locker was in the corner of the locker room with all the defensive linemen. Godfrey Myles’ locker was next to mine. On the other side were Leon Lett and Tony Tolbert. On the opposite side of the locker room were the other rookie draft picks. Alvin Harper (also drafted in the 1st round by the Cowboys in 1991) was over on that side with the wide receivers. Those guys were all talk.”
“That’s what I remember about the receivers. They would talk every morning. I was thinking, ‘Will those guys ever shut up?’ It was Alvin, Michael Irvin, and K-Mart (Kelvin Martin). They were like the Three Amigos.”
“For the first practice at Valley Ranch, I remember going very early out to the field and nobody else was out there. I thought, ‘I am going to run some 110s because I knew what the running test was going to be. I wanted to christen the field as if to say, ‘This is going to be my workspace’. I wanted to be prepared to start my NFL career.”
