IRVING, Texas - Joe Randle tried to walk the tightrope between humility and confidence on Wednesday as he met the media at Cowboys OTAs, faced with questions about his off-the-field maturity and his on-the-field ability to replace departed rushing champion DeMarco Murray.
"He had a good year last year, and I got to sit back and watch a lot," Randle said of now-Philadelphian Murray, "and I felt like there was a lot of meat left on the bone.""Meat left on the bone''? Meaning, "1,845 rushing yards that could've even been more''?
Randle took most of the first-team reps at running back in practice Wednesday at Valley Ranch, with Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and Ryan Williams also in the mix. Most of Randle's problems are behavioral; underwear-stealing and all that. But he's trying to gain the faith of an organization that would like to trust him.
"I'm going to try to go out there and grind as hard as I can and see which role I end up in," Randle said. "If they ask me to (be the No. 1 guy), I'm ready for it. And if they believe in me, I believe in myself, that's for sure."
Randle clearly realizes that playing for the Cowboys, in any role, elevates a player's profile.
"I haven't ever been nothing but a star," Randle said. "And I was still a star last year because I had a star on my helmet, so I'm just going to keep being me, Joe Randle."
And is Joe Randle a troublemaker bound for more trouble or just a knucklehead bound for maturity?
"Everything you go through in life you learn from it and I learned from it and I've moved past it. I've grown up," Randle said. "I've made some young and silly mistakes, but I'm moving forward."
