FRISCO ― Jalen Tolbert didn’t think about the journey in the moment.
Reflection is lost in the celebration that comes with a game-winning catch in the final seconds of a crucial road victory.
But the next day, when the Cowboys receiver had time to visit with family and friends, the topic quickly turned to how wonderful it was to see his persistence and hard work pay off.
“It’s special and you realize it because you work for so long and you never know when it’s truly going to happen for you,” Tolbert said of the reception that gave Dallas a come-from-behind victory over Pittsburgh. “Or if it will happen or what could come from the work you’re putting in.
“But you just gotta have faith and trust that the work will show one day.”
The work is paying off.
A third-round pick who was inactive for more games than he played as a rookie, a young receiver who showed incremental improvement in his second season appears to have found his footing in Year 3.
Tolbert enters the weekend as the Cowboys’ third-leading receiver with 20 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns. A modest performance against Detroit will allow him to establish career highs in receptions and yards.
The absence of veteran Brandin Cooks, a close friend and mentor, has opened the door for his production. But the groundwork for Tolbert’s rise was laid by his approach after a disappointing rookie season and his sessions with Dak Prescott during the offseason.
“That was special,” Prescott said of Tolbert’s 4-yard touchdown reception with 20 seconds left. “I know it meant a lot to this team, that play.
“He’s wanted to make catches like that from Day 1. Not being put in positions to do so was tough for him. But the guys responded, done everything the right way since then.
“I’m super, super proud of him.”
Tolbert is a relative newcomer to the sport. He was a baseball guy, in his words, until best friend Bubba Thompson got him to run routes for him.
Interesting side note: Yes, that’s the same Thompson the Texas Rangers took in the first round of the 2017 draft.
Back to Tolbert. He began to play both sports and fell in love with football his senior year in high school. He went to South Alabama and was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year as a senior after breaking the school record with 82 catches for 1,474 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to being that guy, showing the world that I am that guy,” Tolbert said. “I know I can be.
“I’m just excited for the opportunities ahead of me and to be able to go out and make the most of them.”
Tolbert got off to a slow start in Dallas. He played in just eight games as a rookie and finished with two catches for 12 yards. He was better last season but still didn’t crack the Cowboys’ top-five receivers.
The third-year receiver already had a career day on the books before his game-winning touchdown against the Steelers. He flashed open in the back of the end zone on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line when Prescott skipped a pass that drilled the receiver in the …
Well, you get the idea.
“I went blank for a second,” Tolbert said of a ball that hit him in the privates. “I couldn’t breathe. I was out of it.”
The Cowboys called a timeout, which allowed Tolbert to catch his breath. He wouldn’t have been on the field for the final play otherwise.
The call was a crossing route. CeeDee Lamb went over the top while Tolbert was tasked to run the route underneath. There was so much traffic he had to run the route just short of the end zone before quickly fading inside the line when the ball was delivered.
Tolbert normally walks onto the field with Cooks. He texted his friend before the game to tell him he loved him. Cooks responded in kind.
The receiver’s cell was flooded with congratulatory texts by the time he returned to the locker room. One of the first was from Cooks.
“I ended up telling him I made sure I shouted you out in the media, bro,” Tolbert said. “You’re with me always.
“A guy like that who has been successful for so long, been around so many great players, when he sees value in you and knows what you’re capable of, it’s special.
“That obviously brings confidence to me.”
It comes as no surprise that Tolbert ranks that play as the biggest of his young career. He was given the ball and is having it painted with the words “game-winning touchdown” to display in his home.
He hopes it’s not the last.
“I‘m so proud of him,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s who he is.”
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.
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