FRISCO, Texas — It’s the center of the overall padded coaching camp apply in Oxnard, California, and the Dallas Cowboys are going through fourth-and-1.

Ezekiel Elliott has been the principle working again possibility in that status since 2016, however the Cowboys spared their 0.33 all-time chief rusher in March and he just lately signed with the Brandnew England Patriots.

Within the day, a stadium might be stuffed with 80,000 fanatics, and they all would know Elliott was once getting the ball. Extra continuously than now not, he would be successful.

In this week, Tony Pollard is covered as much as Dak Prescott’s proper. Next the quarterback tucks the ball into Pollard’s fingers, the working again is going proper and sticks his underpinning within the garden to pick out up the primary unwell.

There aren’t any fanatics within the makeshift stands at coaching camp, however it sort of feels like everybody anticipated Pollard to get the ball.

Up to the Cowboys really feel assured in Pollard’s skill to interchange Elliott as their Incorrect. 1 again, it’s the gritty and dirty yards, like the ones in short-yardage and goal-line conditions, that can in the end inform the tale.

“We have phone booth runs, and I like Tony in the phone booth,” teacher Mike McCarthy mentioned. “He’s a crease runner, and I always go back to [Hall of Fame running back] Marcus Allen. He always said short yardage, goal line was the easiest play in football because you’ve got all 22 guys there, and it’s easy to find a crease and accelerate it, and Tony has that instinct.”

Pollard is indexed at 6-foot, identical as Elliott, however he’s 215 kilos, some 11 lower than Elliott. Their builds are other. Elliott is extra compact, apparently constructed to care for the battering a working again takes, however Pollard believes he can care for the cruel within runs, too.

“I mean, my style of running, like I try to run to avoid hits, but if it’s a situation that I can’t avoid it, then I’m finishing all my runs forward,” Pollard mentioned. “I just keep that mindset, trying to be conscious of the hits I take, but at the same time not being timid out there or tiptoe into things or anything like that.”

Pollard does now not have the similar pattern of enjoy as Elliott, however within the day two seasons he has proven the power to be successful. Over that extend, in line with TruMedia, Pollard had 100 yards on 18 carries of third-and-2 or much less, changing a primary unwell 14 occasions. He has averaged 3.27 yards ahead of touch and 1.89 later.

Elliott had 42 carries for 153 yards with 32 first-down conversions. He averaged 2.02 yards ahead of touch and 1.62 yards later, however Elliott had 5 touchdowns to Pollard’s one.

In runs from warring parties’ 5 yard-line, Pollard had 9 carries the day two seasons for 13 yards and 3 touchdowns. Elliott had 33 carries for 37 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“As a back, you understand the lanes. You understand what the play is designed to do,” Prescott mentioned. “I mean Zeke, credit to him, the head, the neck he had on him, he had a lot of those times it was just, ‘Boom!’ And he could run straight forward and into people. I think TP offers a little different dynamic of the quickness and being able to slide into the hole. So I think the job is going to get done the same way.”

Pollard has proven he may care for extra paintings each and every pace because the Cowboys decided on him within the fourth spherical in 2019. His carries have long past from 86 to 101 to 130 to 193 ultimate season, when he ran for 1,007 yards and was once named to the Professional Bowl.

However how a lot more paintings can he care for? He has had only one sport in his profession with greater than 20 carries (22 as opposed to the Packers ultimate season) and two extra with a minimum of 15 (15 as opposed to the Minnesota Vikings, 18 as opposed to the Brandnew York Giants in back-to-back weeks ultimate season).

Pollard, who’s enjoying this season at the $10.091 million franchise tag, would be the Incorrect. 1 again, however McCarthy’s plan is to virtue a number of of them, even supposing Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn are untested on the generation. McCarthy is having a look extra on the touches in line with sport than carries in line with sport.

“That’s why the run-by-committee is usually the best way to go,” McCarthy mentioned. “Running back is a stress position, each and every year. So you got to have a stable there.”

Pollard is coming off a damaged leg and surgical operation to fix a top ankle sprain, accidents suffered within the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He’s going to now not play games within the preseason, however there was deny factor right through the educational camp practices.

“He’s put his foot in the ground on a number of runs,” McCarthy mentioned. “I definitely think he’s back.”

And Pollard needs to turn out there may be extra that he can do, whilst a short-yardage and goal-line again.

“I’m prepared for any moment that they feel like I need to be in there for,” Pollard mentioned, “and I’m ready for whatever.”