The prestige and honor of wearing the “Star” on the side of the helmet is and has been the dream of many top and under evaluated players since Tex Schramm, former GM of the Dallas Cowboys initiated a marketing plan that made “America’s Team” into the iconic symbol it is today.

Jerry Jones, as we all know, purchased the team in 1989 and with his shrewd business style and marketing prowess, has continued to grow the image and awareness of the team in a capacity that has been unrivaled.

The Dallas Cowboys will hold their annual Rookie mini-camp the weekend of May 4-6, 2012. The “Drafted” and “Un-drafted” players in 2012 will be in attendance to showcase their talents and give the coaching staff and the fans a “First Look” into what they hope will be their opportunity to earn the right to strap on a helmet for the Dallas Cowboys when the regular season opens in September.

In addition to the picks selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, twenty-one additional players have been signed and will participate in the Rookie Mini-Camp along with a handful of others that have been simply invited with no contractual agreement to date.

Here is a list of the lucky “21″:

Columbia T Jeff Adams; Oklahoma State OT Levy Adcock; Southern Methodist WR Cole Beasley; Tennessee Tech WR Tim Benford; N.C. State TE George Bryan; Notre Dame OT Taylor Dever; North Texas RB Lance Dunbar; Miami G Harland Gunn; Tarleton State WR Saalim Hakim; Prairie View A&M LB Adrian Hamilton; Central Florida LS Charley Hughlett; UTEP WR Donovan Kemp; Memphis G Ronald Leary; Arkansas CB Isaac Madison; Idaho T Tyrone Novikoff; South Florida RB Darrell Scott; Texas A&M CB Lionel Smith; Penn State TE Andrew Szcrerba; Abilene Christian LB Aston Whiteside; Virginia Tech S Eddie Whitley; Michigan CB Troy Woolfolk

Jason Garrett, Head Coach of the Cowboys implemented a strict, “Rookies won’t wear the Star until they’ve earned it !”, policy last season and it should once again instill a work ethic in the new guys that Coach Garrett and his staff will be keeping an eye on if these ambitious young players want to make the final cut. There is still plenty of time with training camps and pre-season ahead to work hard and be evaluated. Some of the un-drafted players in recent years have raised eyebrows and it will be interesting to see as the summer progresses which ones have Coach Garrett and the rest of the Cowboys coaching staff keeping the eyes in the back of their head open looking for the guy who earns the “Star” !

-Eric Luck

Twitter: @SMWWLUCK

Dallas Cowboys Blog: http://www.getrealfootball.com