On the surface, there aren’t a lot of similarities between myself and the average NFL rookie.

A brief tale of the tape:

• I’m a 5-foot-9 (if you round up) former high school safety who only had Division III offers out of high school.
• Meanwhile, last year’s Dallas Cowboys first round pick, Mazi Smith, was ranked as the No. 1 freak college football player in 2022 by The Athletic for his incredible strength, size and athleticism.

It doesn’t take a scout to see the differences there.

We did have one commonality, however. Just like the Cowboys rookie class, last year was my first in the NFL as a beat reporter. I started the Monday of Week 1 at Lone Star Live. It felt like drinking water out of a fire hose at times.

Which is why, heading into this year, I’ve actually taken to heart something Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has said about his rookie class, and pretty much every rookie class he’s had before. They need to take, what he calls, the second year jump. To shed the rookie label and improve their performance trajectory steeply.

I always planned to do the same this coming season. I just didn’t plan to make that jump for a different outlet.

I’m so thrilled to be joining ALLCITY Network’s newest outlet, DLLS, as a Dallas Cowboys beat reporter. I’m thrilled to work on the beat alongside Clarence Hill. Between us there will be 28 years on the beat, which feels almost the same as this meme below.

In case it’s not obvious: I’m not Kobe in that situation.

I promise, though: what I lack in experience I’ll make up for in ideas, storytelling and humor.

Also, having the chance to talk football with Jeff Cavanaugh, Iisha Morrison and Jesse Holley daily, five times a week, is truly a dream come true. We’ve done practice shows together, and though it’s our first time working together, I already feel like we’ve known each other for years. Hopefully that chemistry translates through the show.

In this new role, I plan to stick to the core values that got me here. My goal — whether it’s covering high schools, colleges, the Dallas Stars, the Texas Rangers, and much more over my time in Dallas and beyond — has always been to provide readers, listeners, watchers and fans the most comprehensive coverage possible. I believe every person has a story, and my track record will show that I’m committed to telling as many as I can in the best and most unique ways possible.

• Last season I wrote about Dallas Cowboys broadcaster Kyle Youmans, who suddenly had a dream come true when he had to take over the play-by-play role for the team’s radio broadcast.
• Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle runs so hard, McCarthy said last season, that it’s beautiful. I sought out to find where that beautiful, angry running style came from.
• Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Ellis lived a NFL dream as a player. He always aspired to become a coach, as well. He prayed on it, too. He’s now an assistant defensive line coach with the Cowboys, taking a unique path to get back to the team that once drafted him.

For me, the storytelling will always be my favorite part.

ALLCITY has a slogan that I’ve really come to enjoy, though. The company, with outlets in Denver, Chicago, Phoenix and Philadelphia, has aimed to build a community and accomplish one goal: in their words, they want to make it more fun to be a sports fan. Frankly, I think this new role will also make it more fun to be a reporter, as well.

So let’s have some fun, Cowboys fans, and let’s take the jump together.