IRVING, Texas –For the third time in five weeks, Travis Frederick made a visit to Valley Ranch.
The first time he was among 30 draft prospects the Cowboys were strongly evaluating back in early April. Then two weeks ago, he was part of a press conference with the top three draft picks the Cowboys selected, with Frederick of course being the first.
On Thursday, he was among a larger group, but all with the same goal – making the team and fulfilling their dreams of playing in the NFL. Frederick will take place in this weekend's mini-camp for rookies and selected veterans.
In between Thursday's activities, which included going through physicals, singing paperwork and taking media headshots, Frederick stopped to chat about his third visit to Valley Ranch and his expectations for the upcoming minicamp.
So three visits in, do you feel like a veteran of Valley Ranch now?
Frederick: I don't know about that. But I definitely know my place around town a little bit. I know my way around the facility, too. It's not the first time I've been here.
How important is it to establish a rapport with your new teammates in this rookie class?
Frederick: Absolutely, I think this weekend is really important – not only for myself as far as development and fitting and learning. But getting a hold of the other guys and making sure everyone is on the same page, so we can go forward and work together throughout this season and help this team.
Are you relieved to have the draft process over and now it's on to football?
Frederick: Absolutely. I don't want to say that I'm getting to go downhill, because it's still an uphill thing with the amount of work we have going on. But without the combine stress and work is finishing up here, so that's going to take a load off. And then I can really focus on football. I'm really excited about that.
Have you had the chance to talk to some of the veterans?
Frederick: I talked to Tyron Smith last weekend. We have the same agent. We had a chance to talk. It was nice to meet him. I think he's a really nice guy. I think I can fit in with the group pretty well.
So did you do a little trim-work on the beard in the last two weeks?
Frederick: Yes, I trimmed it up a little bit in hopes I would look a little more presentable.
When is the last time you put a helmet on? [embedded_ad]
Frederick: It hasn't been since January 1 (Rose Bowl). I'm not too worried about it. We'll see how it goes this weekend.
Are you finding out just how many Cowboys fans there are out there?
Frederick: Definitely. It's a great opportunity to be in such a large nation of Cowboys fans. My twitter followers have gone way up. Not that I really care or anything. It's just a great organization and great fan base. I'm excited to go out there and hopefully show them good things.
