Oklahoma State University Athletics
Still Cowboys
December 29, 2013 | Cowboy Football
Dec. 29, 2013
The Dallas Cowboys have their biggest game of the season tonight, and it's a safe bet that a number of Oklahoma State products will play major roles in whether Dallas earns a berth in the NFL playoffs.
Four Cowboys from Stillwater are on Dallas' active roster - wide receiver Dez Bryant, kicker Dan Bailey, linebacker Orie Lemon and running back Joseph Randle.
Bailey said having guys he played with in college alongside him in the NFL is a welcome opportunity.
"It's definitely unique - having that many guys on one team in the NFL is kind of unheard of, and it's cool that we all played together (at OSU) as well," Bailey said. "In the NFL, you have a lot of young guys and a lot of old guys who are eight-, 10-year vets. The fact that we all had the opportunity to cross over and play with each other at one point in college is really cool. It's great to see that carry over to the next level and see each other grow. It's been fun."
Each of the OSU alums is having an impact at the highest level:
- Bryant, a fourth-year pro, was recently named to his first Pro Bowl. The wideout has topped 1,000 yards and hauled in 12 touchdowns each of last two seasons.
- Bailey is in his third NFL season with the Cowboys. In 47 games, he's connected on 86-of-95 on field goal attempts (91 percent) and earlier this season booted a career long of 53 yards.
- A linebacker who was recently signed to the active roster, Lemon has played in three games with Dallas this season after appearing in five a year ago.
- Randle, a rookie who was a fifth-round draft pick, has played in 12 games with two starts and recorded 164 rushing yards and two touchdowns while catching eight passes for 61 yards.
Bailey has come a long way since joining the OSU program as a walk-on in 2007. He went on to become the Cowboys' all-time leading scorer with 370 points and ranks second on the program's all-time list with 57 field goals.
"It was a great five years, a lot of fun," Bailey said. "From a football standpoint, it definitely prepared me to move on to the next level. The community, the town, everything about OSU I loved. It was just a great experience.
"Being around the guys; the program that Mike Gundy is running is just a really great program. It helped me grow up as a person, as a teammate and as a friend. I learned a lot about myself and a lot about life.
"Just being able to have the opportunity go out there and play for OSU and represent the university was the highlight of my time there."
Bailey had plenty of highlights during his career. He set an NCAA record with 149 points during an All-American 2010 season and won the Lou Groza Award as the top collegiate kicker in the nation.
Following his standout career, Bailey signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent. He said much of his professional success goes back to his Stillwater and OSU roots.
"It is kind of a dream to some extent," Bailey said. "I like to think I always set high goals for myself and that always keeps me reaching for more and trying to get to that next level.
"But I definitely didn't do it on my own. The people that were involved from an education standpoint to athletics, everything, I definitely had a lot of help along the way; it wasn't just me doing it.
"The work ethic that they instilled in us in the football program is second to none. The expectation is high, and they keep it high. You have to work hard to be successful, and they've done a great job of formulating a good recipe for success there.
"The biggest factor for me was buying into the system and the program set in place there and taking advantage of it."
Bailey added that being a part of the OSU family is still a vital part of his life.
"We had training camp in California, and every day I heard somebody say `Go Pokes!' or something about OSU," Bailey said. "It seems like no matter where you are, people genuinely care about you and what you're all about, are genuinely interested in you as a person and not just as an athlete.
"I think that carries over throughout the whole university; I think that's why we have some of the best fans out there. It's obviously a biased opinion, but I would put our fans up against anybody else.
"It is a family. We're all in it together, we all have the same goals so it's definitely a great experience."
And while Bailey's job might not allow him to return to Boone Pickens Stadium to cheer on his alma mater, coach Mike Gundy's Cowboys and the program he helped achieve success during his four seasons aren't far from his mind.
"(OSU's success is) a huge testament to Mike (Gundy) and what he has going on there, the staff he's put together," Bailey said. "It's been a blast to watch. The overlap makes it hard to get back there for a game so I feel bad about that, but I try to watch as many games as I can and I know the other guys on the team do the same thing.
"They're playing great football, and I feel like the program is only going up from this point on. It's exciting."
