Cowboys DE David Irving's Bounce-Back Story
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DALLAS (CBS11 SPORTS) - Cowboys rookie defensive tackle David Irving is not bashful about saying "a year ago, the NFL didn't seem like it was a possibility."
Irving was kicked off the Iowa State football team after he was arrested, for what police determined to be his role in a riot on campus in 2013. Having to sit out his entire senior season, left Irving, his girlfriend Angela, and their daughter Zoe with a very uncertain future.
Irving says by the time he called his mom to tell her what happened, everyone already knew. Angela says she could tell Irving wasn't very happy with the position they were in, but he did something about it, and that's all that matters.
At his pro workout day at his former high school in California, seven teams attended. One of those teams in attendance was the Dallas Cowboys. Irving says he expected to get drafted, but he understands what he was up against, and it didn't surprise him that no one wanted to use a pick on him.
When the Kansas City Chiefs offered him a spot on their practice squad, Irving quickly jumped at the chance. In late September, the Cowboys signed him to the active roster. Irving has done more than take up space.
He's been a consistent play maker, and has turned in arguable the most pleasant surprise on the Cowboys roster this season. David Irving says he's just happy he gets a chance to show people who he really is as a person.
From one of the nation's notoriously rough neighborhoods, Compton, California, Irving has proven you can make a bad decision…leave the past in the past…and still have an amazingly bright future.
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