Cowboys' La'el Collins in position to rebound from nightmare scenario

La'el Collins was about to board a flight to Chicago in May, to the NFL draft, to the dream come true for a kid from Baton Rouge who was projected to be a top-15 selection as an offensive lineman.

That's when news broke publicly that a Brittany Mills – 29 years old, eight months pregnant and briefly romantically linked with Collins – had been shot and murdered in the doorstep of her apartment complex. Her unborn son would later die also. Worse for Collins, the police were interested in talking to him.

By the time he landed in Chicago, his phone wouldn't stop blowing up and his agent was telling him that he may need to turn around and go home, that the draft was now in flux and in a post-Aaron Hernandez world, the NFL was panicked. The agency, Priority Sports, had already hired a defense attorney and a private investigator and was convinced of Collins' alibi and innocence. But this was the swirl of dwindling hours of the draft.

Rumors fly. Teams scare.

Collins tearfully told family and friends who'd come to celebrate with him that even though he had nothing to do with Mills' murder, the NFL celebration was being deferred.

Collins went home and satisfied the police. He was never an official suspect or even a so-called person of interest and within days he was cleared of any involvement.

The timing couldn't have been worse though; across those lonely days, the draft went off without the 6-foot-4, 305-pound LSU product. Once the early rounds whipped past, his agent controversially threatened to hold out an entire season and reenter the draft. It was an attempt to scare off any team interested in taking him on the cheap in the late rounds.

Meanwhile, Collins was stuck watching on TV until he couldn't stand it, retreating to a darkened room where he cried, prayed and refused to eat. The dream had become a nightmare.

"I didn't know what was going on," Collins said. "I didn't want to know what was going on. I didn't want to think about football."

Eventually the storm clouds cleared. Teams began believing the police. Monday Morning Quarterback would later report the hold-out threat was a bluff, but it worked. Collins was an undrafted free agent and now in a unique situation: rather than have a team pick him, he could pick one. Twenty-nine made contact, some recruiting him hard.

The list was pared until Collins flew to Dallas to meet with Cowboys executives, staff and players at the home of owner Jerry Jones. It went perfectly for both sides. Dallas felt right, but it also had perhaps the best offensive line in the league, one that wouldn't be easy to crack as a starter.

Collins didn't care. He welcomed the competition. He trusted the environment. He coveted the chance to be surrounded by other great players.

He picked Dallas, not an easier path to stardom, and that says a whole lot about him.

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Here at Cowboys camp the division between first string and second is clear. The ones work with the ones, including quarterback Tony Romo, tight end Jason Witten and wideout Dez Bryant. They get most of the reps. The twos wait on the side until they get their chance.

Collins stands with the twos.

Rather than come to a camp as a ballyhooed, high first-round pick with a big contract, always standing with the starters, he's more of just another guy so far here, albeit a very talented one. He signed a three-year deal worth $1.7 million guaranteed, about $15 million less than if Mills' murder occurred a week prior or later and he had the time to work out his innocence.

He says he's done even considering that, though. What happened happened. While he says he doesn't understand why it happened, there is nothing he can do now other than work hard, get better and help the Cowboys win football games.

"It's behind me," he said. "It's in the past. Now I'm just focused on coming out every day and getting better."

While other teams tried to recruit against the Cowboys by predicting training camp scenes like this, Collins battling for playing – or even practice – time, he just shrugs. Everything isn't about instant gratification. He could've come out of school after his junior season but returned for one more year at LSU in attempt to be best prepared for a long career. This is no different.

"It's just a great atmosphere, a great opportunity to come and get better," Collins said. "To compete against great competition. That's what we do each and every day, to make each other better.

"You take what [his teammates can teach him] into consideration," he said. "When you're around veteran guys that know what they are doing, that have done this year in and year out, you just come in and take everything they have done to put them in position.

"So that is what I concentrate on."

For the Cowboys, of course, this is a boon. If Collins is as good as he was projected, then they managed to add extra depth to an already gifted frontline that is an anchor to a potential Super Bowl run. It was like a free first-round draft pick, yet at less cost.

Like everyone else, the team went through a rushed, but relentless evaluation of Collins after the news of Mills' murder broke. There had been no previous red flags, but now the concern wasn't just any off-field issues, but how Collins might mentally and motivationally handle the stress of what happened and the disappointment of how he entered the league. This was uncharted territory.

"We got so many great reports from people at LSU about him, so we were pretty confident about the kind of young man he is," coach Jason Garrett said. "When we got a chance to meet and visit with him, that was all reinforced. We really had no concerns about that.

"I thought he handled the situation really, really well," Garrett continued. "Not many people have gone through a situation like that. The approach he took and the attitude he has, has been really, really positive."

Here on Day Two of camp, there isn't much to evaluate performance-wise. The team's first full-pad practice doesn't come until Saturday. Garrett does point positively to one thing though, after minicamp the coaches gave Collins some technical aspects they wanted him to work on during the five-week summer break.

"He's clearly done that," Garrett said. "We know he's a hard-working guy. We know he's passionate about football. I think he's a guy who wants to be a good football player."

Collins agrees with that. He's here to work, trying to survive the avalanche of information and the speed of the game that all rookies must endure. This isn't how he thought it would go down, but that no longer matters.

It's not where you start, but where you finish and for a guy who for a few fleeting days had to wonder if the NFL would be snatched away from him due to incredibly bizarre circumstances, just being here, just being free to play, is more than enough.

"I can't change what happened," Collins said. "I can come out here and try to get better every day. So I'm just doing that."

With that he heads off the practice field, off to more meetings, off to his own roundabout future.