A native of nearby Rowlett, Texas, Zach Wood spent the weekend trying to show he deserves a chance to compete for a roster spot with the Dallas Cowboys (photo by PonyFans.com).

For all teams in the National Football League, the first couple of weeks after last weekend’s draft mark the start of offseason football drills. For the Dallas Cowboys, the offseason kicked off with a rookie mini-camp this weekend at the team’s training facility in Valley Ranch. A couple dozen players took the field for the first time, including the team’s newest draft choices and a slew of undrafted free agents. In addition, a half a dozen players were there on a weekend tryout, hoping to catch the attention of the Cowboys’ coaches and front enough enough to earn an invitation — and the contract that goes with it — to training camp.

One of those players is former SMU defensive lineman and deep snapper Zach Wood. Armed with his SMU degree in applied physiology, Wood visited exclusively with PonyFans.com to discuss the experience:

PonyFans.com: You grew up outside of Dallas in Rowlett — are you a Cowboys fan?

Zach Wood: Yeah … all my life.

PonyFans.com: Or are you saying that because you’re here, wearing blue and silver and working out for the team?

Wood: No, actually I have. My dad always cheered for the Cowboys, and that’s how I became a fan. Obviously I’m here, trying to get on the team, but just being here is pretty sweet.

PonyFans.com: Who were your favorite players when you were growing up?

Wood: I was always a DeMarcus Ware fan — now he’s with the Broncos, unfortunately, but I always liked watching him play. Jason Witten, too

PonyFans.com: Just about every high school player wants to play in college, and just about every college player wants to make it to the NFL, and here you are, trying out. How much better is it because it’s your hometown team?

Wood: It’s a little surreal. I always wanted to be on this team, but I never thought I’d get a chance to. Just to get the call to come up here and have the opportunity was really, really exciting. I’m pumped for it, my family is really pumped for it, and hopefully something good will come out of it.

PonyFans.com: When you got the phone call from the team, who called you and what was that like?

Wood: (Assistant director of college scouting) Chris Hall called me. I was driving back to Dallas after spending the whole day watching the draft with my parents. It was cool — I got the call a couple hours afterward, when I was going to go work out to let some steam off because I was so upset. I was hoping to get a call, or at least know something. So I got the call, and … I had been getting calls from different places, thinking it was teams. It was credit card scams and things like that, and when I got that call from an unknown number, I thought, “OK, here we go.” I thought it was one of those calls, but when I answered, it was Chris Hall. Just getting that call was incredible, and I immediately called about five people, just to tell them, and nobody answered. So I was in my car, celebrating by myself.

PonyFans.com: Who did you call first?

Wood: My dad and my mom. Then I tried a couple of my buddies, then I tried my agent, but nobody was answering.

PonyFans.com: You have been working to earn this chance, and you grew up a Cowboys fan, so obviously you’re excited when you get that call. But what was it like for your parents when you finally reached them and told them that you were getting a chance to work out for the Dallas Cowboys?

Wood: I think they were just as excited as I was. My mom was almost in tears. It’s funny — I don’t get too hyped about anything, because I know something like this could lead to playing football or it could lead to an opportunity, but I was just excited for that opportunity.

PonyFans.com: What’s it like to put that Cowboys t-shirt, that jersey, that helmet with a star?

Wood: It feels good — really good. They don’t have the stars on the helmets yet. So far, we just get the stripe on there, but that’s a start.

PonyFans.com: You’re here through this weekend, and if all goes well, that time could be extended. But what’s it like to know that, at least for right now, you aren’t a fan — you are a Dallas Cowboy?

Wood: It’s awesome. I don’t think I can put into words how excited I was just to walk through the doors. I was a little intimidated and nervous, just because we haven’t done anything yet, so I’ll get more comfortable as it goes on, but right now, it’s pretty amazing.

PonyFans.com: Is it hard to do this, trying out at two different positions (defensive line and deep snapper)? Or nerve-wracking?

Wood: I think it’s a little better, really, because I’ve got two opportunities to get someone’s attention. A lot of players can’t do that. I love to play defensive line, and I love to deep snap. If I could, I would choose both, but realistically, I might be designated as a long snapper and anything I do on the defensive line would be a plus.

PonyFans.com: So you think you have a better chance to make the team as a long snapper?

Wood: I do, but you can look at it two ways. I’ve only got to beat out one guy, but there’s also only one spot available. So if I can show them that I can play both, even a little bit, that would be ideal.

PonyFans.com: The snapper who is already here, L.P. LaDouceur, is 35 years old and has been here since 2005 (and is scheduled to make just over $1 million in each of the next two seasons). Is part of your chance here the fact that you wouldn’t cost as much money?

Wood: Yeah (laughing). Me and my dad joke about that, how I’ll mow the yard and do all that extra stuff after practice. I’d come in here and do it for minimum wage, for less than the minimum (salary).

PonyFans.com: As far as the defense, how different are the systems, the assignments here, compared to what you did at SMU?

Wood: We haven’t really gotten into too much depth about it yet, but it’s the same position I would be playing here that I played last year at SMU. It’s not much different at this point — pretty much just getting vertical and making penetrations, just like at SMU. That’s what they want me to do. At least so far, here, you don’t really have to worry about that much other than getting up the field. At SMU, we had different movements, I had to read a little bit more. Out here, you just kind of get up the field and go.

They want me to play the “under tackle” position here. But if they want to move me to end, that’s fine. I don’t really have the length for it, but that’s fine. I’ll do whatever I can, whatever they want me to do.

PonyFans.com: When you look at the way you played at SMU, as well as Pro Day and the “Dallas Day” workouts, are you surprised that you’re here?

Wood: A little bit, just because it’s a surprise to get a call from any team, really. But I thought I performed well at Dallas Day, and I thought I impressed some people. So I was hoping to get a call, and this obviously would be an ideal place to go. But I’m not going to lie — I was a little surprised. It doesn’t matter how well I did on Pro Day or anything like that. There are a lot of great players competing for jobs, so to be one of the ones invited to be here is pretty cool.

Zach Wood finished fifth on the team in his senior season at SMU with 39 tackles, and was second among all Mustangs with 3.5 quarterback sacks (photo by PonyFans.com).

PonyFans.com: Other than simply “doing the best you can,” do you have a list of specific goals that you feel you have to achieve to have a legitimate chance of getting called back?

Wood: They talked about how “doing the best you can” is all good, but the most important part is doing your job. I know I’ve got to give all I’ve got — that’s a given — but I’ve got to do it right. It’s important to be able to do the drills right.

PonyFans.com: What did you do to prepare for this weekend? Has your excitement made it difficult to sleep?

Wood: Yeah, I’ve slept. It takes me a while to get to sleep, but once I do, I’m OK. I have tried not to over-hype this — when I do that, I tend to let myself down. So I have just tried to calm down and relax, and focus on what I need to do.

PonyFans.com: You have a new system to learn, new coaches to impress. Does this feel like being a freshman all over again?

Wood: Yeah … for sure. Just walking in the locker room, not knowing anybody. It’s like at SMU — first day with the team, you have your recruiting class with you, so you start to warm up to them a little bit, but that awkwardness is still there.

PonyFans.com: Do you try to bond with these guys right away? Or do you sort of keep your distance, since you and some of the guys in the locker room are competing for the same jobs?

Wood: No, I don’t like to be the guy that tries to latch on to people. I don’t want to try to force anything. I want to naturally develop relationships with everybody.

PonyFans.com: You and the other guys who are here on this weekend tryout are sharing locker room with the team’s draft choices and undrafted free agents. Do you get treated any differently?

Wood: No. The coaches told us “it doesn’t matter if you’re the first draft pick or a free agent or just a workout guy — everybody gets treated the same. It doesn’t matter what you did before, or anything like that. What matters is that you’re here now, and what you do here.”

PonyFans.com: Your defensive line coach is Leon Lett, who you grew up watching when he played for the Cowboys. What’s he like as a teacher?

Wood: He’s awesome — he’s really cool. You said it before: he doesn’t treat anybody differently. He has been really nice to me, really generous with his time and teaching. (Defensive coordinator Rod) Marinelli is, I feel, like another defensive line coach. He’s famous for his work with defensive linemen, especially the under tackles, so I’m kind of pumped I get to play that position under him. It’s a little nerve-wracking, I guess, because that’s his position, the one that he loves. I just want to make sure I perform.

PonyFans.com: In addition to being a fantastic player, Leon Lett earned some fame for his performance on Media Day before the 1994 Super Bowl, when he was nervous, sweating, visibly very uncomfortable. What’s he like as a communicator now?

Wood: He’s great. There aren’t any cameras around, of course, but I don’t think it would matter. He’s very relaxed, he’s patient.

PonyFans.com: So considering everything — your performance, your ability to learn what they have been teaching you — how do you like your chances of sticking around after this weekend?

Wood: It’s hard to say. Obviously, I hope to make it. There’s another long snapper (Brandon Hartson) in here who has been in the league for a couple of years — he’s a cool guy. What’s tough is that that’s all he’s doing — deep snapping. That takes time away from me, in a way, because I’m working with the defense, too, while he’s just deep snapping. Plus, they drafted a defensive tackle, the guy from Nebraska (Maliek Collins). They haven’t broken down how many defensive linemen they’ll carry, or how many defensive tackles. So I really don’t know what my chances are. I just know that I’m going to do everything I can to make them keep me.

PonyFans.com: Look around the league, and deep snappers often are significantly lighter than defensive tackles. Does that make it hard to do the two jobs when they often have such different body types?

Wood: (Deep snappers) are usually lighter, usually around 250 or so. I’m bigger, but I hope I’m not (too big). I’m athletic enough that I can snap the ball and run. (Hartson) is about my height [actually 6-2; Wood is listed at 6-3, 285] and maybe 245, 250 [actually 238] pounds. I think I’ll be alright — if nothing else, it will help me out on the blocking.