A raucous crowd in Seattle and Kansas City or inclement weather in Buffalo or Green Bay can create a real field advantage for the city’s NFL teams. The Dallas Cowboys facilities are located in Texas, and weather prevents it from being a competitive advantage on game day.
However, the Cowboys will be happy to know that their facilities are precisely why they are ahead of the rest of the league and will help them through the pre-draft process next season.
“I mean, hey, all 32 teams will have the same access for sure, but the Cowboys have the home field advantage kind of knowing where things are and knowing how things go and not getting caught up in things.”
In the last episode of Writer’s Block podcast, we sat down with Eric Galko, director of player personnel for the Shrine East and West Bowl. He was present at the press conference when it was announced last week that the College All-Star Game would be moving to Frisco, Texas, in 2024.
Galko reiterated his excitement about the game coming to Texas and what playing for The Star can mean for players participating in the week-long event.
“Dallas was a finalist two years ago at the East-West Shrine Bowl and this time it’s about opening it up again and seeing the community, the city of Dallas and Frisco; being able to give us the option to be at The Star all week every day of practice and game, and be At what I think is a brand new hotel nearby and all the other benefits we would have to offer our players. Being in a great area like Dallas where everything is connected, everything is easy to get to. The facility is best in class in the NFL. If it wasn’t for First place, it’s definitely in the top three in terms of training facilities and also thinking about it for our players. If you can’t tell, I’m excited because I think people are going to love being at the Shrine Bowl in Dallas.”
While the Cowboys will not have more access than the other 31 teams to work with college players, there is a history of a team playing host that can get a better sense of prospects due to the accessibility of their building.
the Las Vegas Raiders He wasn’t part of the starting coaching staff at the recent Shrine Bowl, but they did get to see quarterback Aidan O’Connell all week, who had discussions with head coach Josh McDaniels. The Raiders drafted O’Connell in the fourth round and they could have used the Shrine Bowl to solidify their decision.
As part of Dallas’ junior class, Luke Schoonmaker, Junior Fehoko, and Eric Scott Jr. all attended the event. They are all at the recent Shrine Bowl, and Galko gets to know them well enough to give his impression of the players and how they will affect the Cowboys.
Eric Scott Jr. Playmaker – Sixth round pick
“Eric Scott was a guy that a lot of people in the NFL don’t even appreciate, but I think he impressed on a pro day after the Shrine Bowl and then the whole draft process. But I think throughout his college career, he showed physicality and the ability to win against the press when he faced a receiver On the NFL level in college, he always rose to the occasion and had the perfect body type… I think they are [Cowboys] We will find a role early on. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he ended up in a three-to-four cornerback rotation early on despite being a third-day pick.”
Junior Fuko, D – Fourth round draft pick
Junior Fuhuko got hit near the end of his college season. He didn’t end up playing the Shrine Bowl, but just on a personal note, he obviously has a family that plays in the NFL and he was very focused on, ‘Hey, what do I need to get better in the NFL?’ He was laser focused like the things I have to do step by step to be successful in the NFL… He’s a guy I think you’ll see as a Cowboy fan, and he’ll improve the next three to four years. He’s not going to be a guy who comes in as a rookie and shows you everything he’s got He’s going to get a lot better as his NFL career continues.”
Luke Schoonmaker, TE – Second round draft pick
“he [Schoonmaker] He was one of the better athletes at narrow end in the entire draft. It was talked a lot about how he was a very tight class last year, sure he was, but Luke lost his way in it and the preseason guy was the best tight end by most NFL teams that made it to last place. season. He had a great year at the end of his senior season, but then crushed the recruiting process [and] They were wonderfully interviewed. He’s a professional pro…and if it wasn’t for that injury, he might have been a guy who ended up in the late and early second-round territory too. The Cowboys got an absolute great value in Luke Schoonmaker, and again, it wouldn’t surprise me at all by year two, year three, if he was one of the best tight ends in last year’s draft, if not.”
Thinking about how successful the front office and scouts have been in drafting under-the-radar players like DaRon Bland, Israel Mukuamu, Tyler Biadasz, Donovan Wilson, Dorance Armstrong, Tony Pollard, and others, playing a bowl game in the backyard can undoubtedly be a challenge. Useful for a team like Dallas.
While nothing has been confirmed, the Cowboys could have some of their coaches on staff to run workouts and get a chance to coach East or West players.
We won’t know for sure until which team is close to a game, but it’s something Galko wants to make sure people know how important these games are to coaches.
“It’s really important, I think, to people [to] I realize this is also an opportunity for NFL coaches to network a little bit. One of the areas where the All-Stars played, Us and Senior PaulOwns [is] Coaches from the NFL get the opportunity to do one job higher than what they are currently doing. It allows coaches to gain experience, to show other future GMs who might hire them what they can and can’t do as coaches, but also, which is my favorite part, a networking opportunity. This year we’ll have, just like the other All-Star Game, we nominate coaches from several different teams to coach the Shrine Bowl so they have some Cowboys coaches, Eagles coaches, et cetera, and they get a chance to network with each other.”
To help achieve more recruiting diversity in the league, the Cowboys had two members of the coaching staff, Joe Whitt Jr. and Joe Whitt Jr. and Aden Durde, Traveling to the NFL Owners Meeting in May as part of the NFL Coach Acceleration Program. Witt Jr. and Dordy helped build a dominant Dallas defense along with Dan Quinn. If any of the Dallas cast members are selected to participate, these could be names to look out for as February approaches.
Not only will there be plenty of media and events on game day, but fans should also expect a huge tailgate party at the stadium outside The Star. The game will have a lot of Texas representation, as Galko hopes the community will know this is going to be an all-star game and represent the city with pride.
“We want to make sure that the city of Frisco and Dallas know that we want to be here for the long haul and we know that this is the community game and we want this to be the all-star Dallas and Frisco game in the city, the community, the high schools are all involved going forward as well. We’ll have a lot of TCUSMU [and] Longhorn helmets sure, right? All those schools in Texas are in the Shrine Bowl, too. So we’re excited to be a part of the Dallas and Frisco community this year moving forward.”
The match will take place on February 1, 2024 at 7:00 PM at The Star. visit East-West Shrine Bowl website For more details and information.