Saturday, July 25, 1998

UAB's Reese making mark with Cowboys

By ALLAN TAYLOR

Scripps Howard News Service

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Izell Reese expected training camp to be a draining experience. But when the blazing southwestern sun finally sapped his last drop of energy the other day, he got a taste of dehydration, Dallas Cowboys style.

"I was feeling a little woozy and I knew something bad was about to happen," said Reese, a sixth-round selection from UAB. "The cramps started in my side, and then they worked down to my leg, and the next thing I know, they were carrying me off the field."

For a rookie safety hoping to crack one of the most talented secondaries in the NFL, the trainer's cart is no way to exit a practice.

But a single IV soon had Reese feeling replenished. And when workouts resumed the following afternoon, under a searing blanket of 103-degree heat, Reese was back on the turf, full of juice and sprinting down-field like a madman for the punt coverage team.

Apologies to Jerry Jones, but the biggest blast of hot air at this Cowboys camp comes compliments of Mother Nature. The summer-long heat wave gripping Texas has claimed 80 lives and has put every player and coach on alert.

"It's been tough on the body, and I've tried to prepare myself for this, but you really can't," Reese said. "It was hot in Alabama, but the heat out here is a little more intense."

Still, Reese said if he winds up on the Cowboys' 53-man opening-day roster, it will have all been worthwhile. And despite the daily dose of triple-digit temperatures, Reese actually is becoming more comfortable - if not with the heat, at least with the coverage schemes.

"It can get complicated, especially for the safeties," he said. "It's like being a quarterback on defense, and you really have to know what's going on up front and in the secondary.

"I really have to put in some study time each night. I think I study more than I sleep. If I can hold my head up at night, then I try to study. But I'm starting to pick up this stuff. It seems like the more I study, the more plays I make."

With camp only a week old, Reese has made a quick impression. Four-time Pro Bowler Darren Woodson is predicting success for the rookie.

"Izell's a great athlete, so his main concern right now is learning what the defense expects of him," Woodson said. "Once he picks that up, he's going to be a great one."

Reese also caught the eye of longtime special teams icon Bill Bates, now a Dallas assistant coach.

"It's still early, but it's obvious that Izell's flying around and trying to make plays," Bates said.

That's the kind of attention Reese seldom received during his four years as a starter at UAB. He led the Blazers with 86 tackles as a senior, but was overlooked by every college all-star game.

Senior Bowl officials should have been red-faced after Reese's showing at the pre-draft NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where his 39-inch vertical leap turned some heads. In addition, Reese's 11-foot-1 broad jump was the longest of the combine and his 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash was among the five fastest for safeties.

"Not getting invited to any of the all-star games kind of discouraged me, but I knew I was an underdog, coming from a small program," he said. "The combine really proved to me that I could compete with those guys who were going higher in the draft."

Now he's playing alongside the likes of Deion Sanders and trying to to break into a secondary that led the NFL in pass defense in 1997 (157.6 yards per game).

"Being a rookie and playing with arguably some of the best defensive backs in the history of the NFL can be tough. But I want to be out there - that's my competitive nature," Reese said.

"Most of those guys are 29, 30 or 31 years old. They're getting older and it's good to be around them and learn from them before their time is up. Hopefully, after I mature, I can fall right in and become a big player like those guys."

The Cowboys have seven safeties in camp. Woodson will start at strong safety, while former University of Alabama standout George Teague and second-year pro Omar Stoutmire of Fresno State are the leading candidates at free safety.

If the Cowboys decide to keep five safeties, as they did last season, Reese faces a four-way battle for the two remaining spots with Charlie Williams (fourth year from Bowling Green), Kenny Wheaton (second year from Oregon) and Singor Mobley (second year from Washington State).

A season-ending ACL injury suffered by backup cornerback Wendell Davis on Saturday could help Reese. The injury will force Wheaton and Williams to work some at corner.

"Wendell's a great guy and I hate to see that it happened to him, but it's part of life," Reese said. "It's all a numbers game and you have to get in where ever you can fit.

"I want to build a long career here and I'm willing to take whatever route is necessary. If I have to play special teams and that's all that the coaches think I'm ready to do, then I'll do that."

(Allan Taylor writes for The Post-Herald in Birmingham, Ala.)