Published April 27, 2012 - 1:01pm
NEW: Discuss this topic in the Google+ community for SEC fans.
Perhaps one of the top surprises of the draft last night was when the Dallas Cowboys traded up from No. 14 to snag the talented Morris Claiborne from LSU with the sixth pick in the NFL Draft. Cowboy coach Jason Garrett told Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio today that the Cowboys had Claiborne #2 overall on their draft board (behind Andrew Luck). With the needs at corner and with Claiborne falling to No. 6, the Cowboys made their move.
The interesting part of the story is that Claiborne had zero interaction with the Cowboys leading up to the draft. In today’s NFL, most of the top prospects are thoroughly vetted and have long meetings with the staffs of potential teams looking to draft them. Not so with Morris Claiborne and the Dallas Cowboys.
While the Cowboys had plenty of tape to look at, and Claiborne is widely considered a near sure thing to play cornerback at the NFL level, there’s one other connection that aided the Cowboys in their decision. LSU coach Les Miles was the tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 1998-2000. Current Cowboy coach Jason Garrett of course was the back-up quarterback for the Cowboys during 1998-1999. As Garrett told Colin Cowherd today, his relationship with Les Miles has been in place for some time.
Have a listen to the call when Morris Claiborne learned he would be a Dallas Cowboy from Jerry Jones himself as well as the Cowboys coaches. The emotion and surprise of Claiborne is evident.
I can’t say I will ever be an LSU fan, but I am very glad that my NFL team took Claiborne. How ’bout them Cowboys!
That picture makes me laugh a bit. But also, boooooo Cowgirls!