SMU cornerback and kick returner Bryan McCann — make that former SMU cornerback and kick returner Bryan McCann — said Saturday that it didn’t hit him right away: Friday is the day he starts performing those duties for the Dallas Cowboys.

McCann and the Cowboys agreed to terms shortly after the conclusion of the 2010 NFL Draft. Multiple teams were calling McCann, his father, Juarez, and his agent, John Biggins, trying to convince Conference USA’s active leader in career interceptions to sign with them. After agreeing to become a Cowboy, McCann walked around the corner to tell his mother, Norma, the news.

Bryan McCann won't go far to continue his playing career after signing with the Dallas Cowboys (photo by Travis Johnston).

“I went around the corner, and she was on the phone,” McCann said. “She loves the Cowboys — we’re from Oklahoma — and when I told her, she started screaming, squeezing the mess out of my neck and crying.”

Heading into his senior year, McCann was viewed as a longshot candidate to make it to the NFL. After a strong senior season, and a Pro Day on which he ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any player in the country, McCann found himself hoping to sneak into late rounds of this year’s draft.

“I got a call from the Cowboys at 8 a.m.,” McCann said. “(Secondary) Coach (Dave) Campo called me. He told me he really liked me, and that he was going to to into their ‘war room’ and push for me to get drafted. He said he had no control of that, but he was going to try. Then he said, ‘if you don’t get drafted and you start hearing from teams, don’t make a decision until you hear from us.’”

McCann heard primarily from four teams throughout the draft’s third day: the Cowboys, the Houston Texans, the Philadelphia and the Indianapolis Colts.

“We started out just talking with Indy,” McCann said. “I was talking with them all week. They told me they liked me, but they just didn’t know if they could draft me. But they kept calling me throughout the day, saying, ‘we might take you here … we might take you here.’

“But they had three picks in the last round. If they wanted me that bad, they had a lot of opportunities. I was still on the board.”

Midway through the seventh round, the Texans made an offer for a signing bonus on a rookie free agent contract. Immediately after the draft, Indianapolis and Dallas made offers. Indianapolis actually sweetened its offer, but McCann, his family and his representatives, John Biggins and Brian Berry, weighed their options before accepting what the Cowboys had on the table.

“We looked at the teams that were interested in me, and we looked at their rosters, and thought about which team would offer the best chance to make the team and earn early playing time.

“Indy has some young corners they like a lot, and they’re not going anywhere,” McCann said. “Houston drafted Trindon Holliday (the speedy kick return specialist from LSU), so they’re not looking for another return guy.

“The Cowboys said Dez Bryant would get some work in the return game, but Coach Campo said if (Bryant) is going to have a significant role on offense, they might pull that back. A lot of teams are hesitant to put high draft picks back there returning kicks if they’re going to have a big role on offense or defense.”

McCann knows that Dallas, of course, has a solid pair of starting cornerbacks in Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins, and a serviceable backup in Orlando Scandrick.

“But Coach Campo said they’re going to take seven corners to training camp,” McCann said. “I plan to be one of them.”

McCann’s cousin, Donovan Cox, was in town to watch the draft with McCann and his parents. Cox is a couple months older than McCann, and the two grew up talking about the possibility of McCann playing one day for the Cowboys.

“The Cowboys were always my favorite team, and every team he played on, Bryan was always the most talented guy on the team,” Cox said. “This whole process was a little frustrating, because it was so long and drawn out, but one way or another, it worked out. To see him put on that helmet with the blue star … I can’t wait to see that.”

McCann said the emotional waves sparked by the phone calls were harder on his father, Juarez, than anyone else.

“My dad was a little upset I think,” McCann said. “My mom’s got an attitude more like mine — a go-with-the-flow attitude. But watching my dad go on that roller coaster was kind of hard. So after it got resolved, it felt really good to stand up and have him hold me in his arms and hold him in mine. Then I went around the corner and told my mom. She hugged me and was talking in my ear and crying. When she didn’t let go, then it hit me, and I started crying like a baby, too.

“It’s not that I didn’t think I made them proud, but I know they were definitely proud of me today. They’ve done so much for me and been so supportive of me — it felt great to give that back to them.”