A Couple Of Long Shots To Pull For

FRISCO, Texas – This is off one rookie minicamp.

Two open locker rooms’ worth of interviews.

And usually this is the time of year to offer a guy to cheer for. You know, a player with long odds to make the team, yet one worth betting odds and an interesting story to tell.

So this year, if you will, instead of one, how about two candidates maybe flying under the radar worth keeping an eye on? Two guys who have arrived on campus as undrafted free agents.

One from the Class of 2021 who didn’t play a lick this past season.

The other in the Class of 2022, having taken the junior college route to eventually land at an HBCU school.

Both with unique stories but each appearing to be one of those guys who just look the part. Sort of like past guys who squeezed their way onto a roster through the back door. Such as, off the top of my head, Jeff Heath or Cole Beasley or Dan Bailey or Lance Dunbar or Barry Church. Or heck, we can go way back to 1981 when Everson Walls and Michael Downs, two undrafted guys from the Dallas area, ended up starting as rookies in the same defensive backfield.

So meet T. J. Vasher, wide receiver, Texas Tech. He’s the one arriving last year, but essentially spent the 2021 season on non-football injury.

Then there is Markquese Bell, safety, Florida A&M, by way of Coffeyville Junior College. He’s the rookie undrafted free agent the Cowboys had a draftable grade on, only for Bell to fall through all seven rounds of the draft, becoming a “priority” free agent to sign.

Best thing about both? They look the part, both with not only unique stories but also traits giving them a chance. Vasher, the receiver, is 6-6, 210, with an 84-inch wingspan, out of Wichita Falls Rider High School, who runs a reported 4.5 in the 40. Bell, the safety, is listed at 6-2, 212, but with the body type of a linebacker who, good gosh, ran a 4.41 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine.

And here is what gives guys like this hope.

“I explained to the players last night,” Cowboys defensive…