Three Dallas Cowboys scouts were present at SMU's pro day Tuesday, and one of the Mustang products that stood out to them was kicker Cody Rademacher. Even as the pro day wrapped up, a Cowboys scout was having the senior attempt kicks from extra point distance.
"Coming in, I was very confident," Rademacher said. "I hit kickoffs like I wanted to. Field goals, I had a little rough patch, but it was good enough that guys were interested afterwards. So, I'm happy."
The Austin Westlake product went six-of-nine on field goals and also boomed kickoffs into the end zone three-of-six times during his workout. Afterwards, though the other 14 NFL scouts there congratulated Rademacher on his performance, the Cowboys were the only team to speak to him extensively.
"There's workouts next week that they're going to call me about, and I'm going to come back up and work out with them," said Rademacher.
Since 2009, the Mustangs have had at least one player drafted into the NFL, including Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Steelers tackle Kelvin Beachum, and Bengals defensive end Margus Hunt. However, a dearth of kickers are drafted annually, and Rademacher doesn't expect to be a part of that select group.
"As a kicker, the odds of getting drafted are slim to none," Rademacher said. "If it happened, that would be amazing. But I just want to be in a camp on a team. I don't care how it happens."
Rademacher's only season as a kicker was last year for SMU, when he went nine-for-17 on field goals and 12-of-12 on extra points. Of Rademacher's 33 kickoffs, only four of them resulted in touchbacks. In 2013, he was the team's holder for six games.
With needs along the defensive line, secondary, and running back corps, Dallas won't use one of their seven picks on Rademacher. More likely than not, the club would sign him as an undrafted free agent to aid incumbent Dan Bailey in kickoff duties during offseason and training camp. Still, a good showing with Dallas would mean better opportunities elsewhere.
