Oct 28, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs linebacker Tank Carder (43) covers the zone against the Brigham Young Cougars during the game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

In an era when so many of the elite college athletes are less than ‘high-character’ guys and we hear about fisticuffs with rappers or bodyguards, exorbitant and unpaid jewelry bills, marijuana arrests, accusations of sexual impropriety, selling memorabilia for services, shenanigans at strip clubs, etc., it was refreshing to research a prospect that appears to be an old-fashioned good American kid.

If you do not know anything about Tank Carder’s story, then I highly recommend that you read this story at ESPN. (How many of you knew that Tank was a competitive BMXer when he was a kid?). The story is from 2009, but it tells about how Carder almost died in a car accident, and how they thought he might be confined to a wheelchair. It also explains his slow return to the football field: forbidden from playing all contact-sports by his Doctor, Tank agreed to play kicker until he was cleared for physical contact.

Thank you to Cody Dubose of Angleton, Texas, for drawing our attention to such an inspiring story, and for the email below:

I was just wondering what the Cowboys think of TCU’s Tank Carder, being that Ft.Worth is so close to Dallas, I’m hoping that Jerry Jones has at least looked at some of his game film. He is an amazing LB and has great work ethic. Right now he is in California working out and striving to improve his already energetic style of play. A close friend of mine that I work with, Charlie, is great friends of Rick and Marti Carder (Tank’s parents). I was looking at one mock draft (The Walter Football Mock Draft) and it had Dallas taking Tank in the 3rd Round with their 82nd pick. I know these are just mocks and a lot can happen between now and draft day, but I was just wanting to know if you think the Cowboys have looked at him.

Thank you for your time,

Cody Dubose

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Photo by Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

As Thursday, April 26th rapidly approaches, Dallas Cowboys fans are left waiting and wondering who in the heck Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones are going to select with our first round pick in the NFL Draft. The common talk is that the Cows need to snag a corner back and they need to get one who can make an immediate impact on our otherwise abysmal secondary. But who will we pick, or more importantly who will be there when we pick? According to CBS we will be taking either CB Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska or OG David DeCastro from USC, but according to Bleacher Report, Dennard not only hurt his draft stock at the senior bowl, he might have single handedly pushed himself out of the first round all-together. Now unless we want to head back out into free agency and try and pick up Pacman Jones again, we need to think very hard on who we are going to take with the 14th over-all pick.

I like David DeCastro a whole heck of a lot, I just don’t think we could justify the need to use another first round pick on a lineman. I really like the way our o-line played toward the end of the season last year and I especially like how young we are up there. With the only hefty vet being Kyle Kosier, I think it leaves a ton of room for the line to make huge strides during this off-season and pre-season. I think if we flip Kosier back over to the left side he will help Doug Free turn back into Doug the Freak. With Tyron Smith being the break out rookie we all had hoped for, Montrae Holland and Smith could hold down the right side. I predict beast mode all year next year for the entire o-line.

With our obvious short comings in the defensive back field I think it just makes sense to either secure our secondary through the draft or free agency. There are many unrestricted free agents to choose from such as Cortland Finnegan and Brandon Flowers, heck even the ancient Rhonde Barber could fill a whole, at least till next years draft. The question I keep asking myself is: Could we wait? This years draft has many talented DBs and it might not make any sense to go the free agency route when we could get a young stud hungry to prove that he is going to be the next break out star for the Dallas Cowboys. These players include: Morris Claiborne (LSU), Leonard Johnson (ISU), Brandon Boykin (UGA), and Jenoris Jenkins (NAU), to name a few.

I would love nothing more than to add Morris Claiborne to the Cowboys roster, but unfortunately there are a few other clubs that scout players too so it is unlikely that Claiborne will fall to us at the 14th pick, since he is hands down the best CB in the draft as of now. Leonard Johnson out of Iowa State is a very intriguing prospect. Say what you will about the Big 12, but we know quarterbacks and receivers, and Johnson has been covering receivers such as Ryan Broyles and Justin Blackmon during his tenure as an Iowa State CB. It is predicted that he will fall to the later second maybe even third round and would add some much needed youth and speed to our secondary. Brandon Boykin from Georgia suffered a huge setback when he broke his leg during the senior bowl. This could put the Cows in a great position to jump on Boykin if he falls during the draft due to his broken leg making him miss the combine.
Jenoris Jenkins is what I’m going to call another ‘Dez Bryant’ pick-up because his off field drug antics got him kicked off the Gators. This guy scares me. He played like a champ during the senior bowl and I don’t question him as a top talent in this draft, but being kicked off an SEC team for drugs is a little extreme and makes me wonder if he would even be worth the possible drama he could bring to our Cowboys locker room. Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska is our other option, and as I mention before he is who many mock draft specialists are saying we will take with our 14th pick. Most experts agree that after the senior bowl his draft stock dropped considerably, leaving some people wondering if using the 14th round pick on him would be a waste. I think I disagree completely. Athletes are allowed to have a bad game and that might be exactly what happened to his young man.

Dec 21, 2011; San Diego, CA, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs quarterback Colby Cameron (10) is tackled by TCU Horned Frogs linebacker Tank Carder (43) during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

In short, I think we forgo an Offensive Lineman to draft a defensive back. This makes the most sense to me because our offensive front gave Romo the time to have one of his best seasons yet with over 4,000 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Looking at these numbers I just can’t justify our first rounder being anyone but a defensive back. Then we wait in the wings for Leonard Johnson to fall right to us in the 2nd or 3rd round.

I might even consider taking a LB after we pick up two solid DBs. I’m thinking Tank Carder from TCU in the 3rd or 4th to replace the aging Keith Brooking, if for no other reasons than his name is awesome, he runs a 4.65 40, he had 2 interceptions for touchdowns this year, a 26 yarder and 69 yard run back, and he was Mountain West Defensive Player of the year. With Carder and Lee, our linebacker core would be deadly. Go Cowboys.