Cowboys' Hurd teaches life's lessons at camps

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Sam Hurd is in Brownsville with five teammates Thursday to stage a youth football camp at Brownsville Sports Park. On Wednesday, he took a few moments to answer several questions about the team and the upcoming season.

Q: What are your impressions of the Cowboys' new stadium and how do you think the fans will react to it?

A: It's amazing. It has a $300,000 million dollar wide screen. It doesn't matter where you sit, you see everything. You can't beat that. I'm trying to figure out how I can cut it down in size so I can have it in my home after the season's over. It's going to be the biggest stadium you'll probably ever see. The seats are so comfortable that people will just want to sit in them even if there's not a game going on. Everything that Jerry Jones put into the new stadium is all luxury for every fan, so even if someone doesn't like the Cowboys, they should still come out just to experience what it's like. It's just amazing, and everything is state-of-the-art."

Q: Do you see your role expanding on the team this season?

A: I'm going to work as hard as I can and come out there and give everything I've got. Hopefully, I'll move up in my role. My main goal is to become a starter, but if I don't, I'll play my role and do whatever I have to do on special teams to help us win. It's all about making the team better. As long as we get better as a unit, that's the most important thing.

Q: Will the Cowboys miss Terrell Owens?

A: Yes, the team will miss him, but it's not as if we need him to make our offense or our team go. We will miss him because he is our friend, and he has done so much for the team. It's hard to replace his stats and the things that he's done because he's an amazing player and an amazing human being. Besides all the media attention that he got and all the things that were said, he's a great human being, and he was a brother to me and the rest of the receiver corps. He helped train us mentally about all the things that will happen in life, so you're going to miss someone like that.

Q: Do you see Tony Romo continuing to develop as a quarterback?

A: The main thing I see with Tony Romo is that his body has changed (for the better). When you're not as fit as you could be, your body takes a big toll (playing football), and it's not going to have the same kick and go late in the season. He's changed all that. His mentality has changed, too. He's showing us that he's going to do this (improve his physical condition) because he understands he's a leader and he's doing it for us. That's what I love about him. He's not doing it for himself, it's for all of his teammates.

Q: What do the Cowboys need to do to get back to the playoffs?

A: Just win. We've just got to win. We've got to stop looking around. Being in Dallas and being a Cowboy, the media can put too much pressure on some people (players). They're still going to come out and compete, but sometimes it has an effect. We've just got to focus on winning and not look at everything else on the outside. We shouldn't even think about the playoffs. We've just got to win our first exhibition game, then the first regular-season game, and keep it going and win the 10th game, and then we need to make sure we have a good record. We can think about winning that first playoff game when it comes around. We just have to keep playing for each other and just focus on winning, not anything else.

Q: What do you try to stress in youth football camps like this one?

A: I love to teach and motivate kids about how to get better. When you get to high school, you can learn a lot of sloppy things. I went through that stage, so I want to teach them how to make responsible decisions. I've brought other people down like my teammates and coaches from San Antonio Brackenridge to show them different (football) skills, but mainly, my whole thing is to teach then about God and life first. You have to keep God first regardless of whatever trials or tribulations you might have in life. If you don't believe in God, hey, I don't have anything against you, but I'm still going to tell you what I have to say. You just can't get out of that hog pen by yourself. You have to be a humble person and have respect. It's not just about football. That's what I try to pass on.

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.