Good for him, I hope he's completely cleared if he had no involvement in this tragic story which it appears he doesn't. Jerry has the resources and the desire to compensate him once his initial contract is up, I hope he succeed's and cashes in big!

Nice to have another Tiger on the Cowboys. Should be a great OL. Now if we can just get Mo healthy....

LSU OL La'el Collins ecstatic to join Dallas Cowboys after draft ordeal


LSU offensive lineman La'El Collins runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
By Jim Kleinpeter, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on May 07, 2015 at 5:04 PM, updated May 07, 2015 at 5:51 PM

LSU offensive tackle La'el Collins expressed great pleasure Thursday that his long ordeal is over at a press conference in Dallas announcing his three-year deal with the Cowboys to end one of the most unique free agent signings of a draftable NFL player.

The signing ends the saga which has cost Collins as much as $8 million. He will make $1.65 million with a $21,000 signing bonus and because Collins is an undrafted free agent, he can renegotiate after two seasons. Collins will wear jersey number 71.

Collins landed in Dallas after being ignored by all 32 teams in the NFL Draft last week because of his link to a murder investigation in which his former girlfriend and her then unborn child were victims of a double homicide. Collins was not a suspect but was passed over when word got out he was wanted for questioning by Baton Rouge police.

"I told my family, 'Believe me, we will have better times,'" Collins said at a press conference in Dallas Thursday. "We're here. Man, I just can't wait to get ready to go to work.

"For me, from the moment everything went down, I never dropped my head," he said

When asked about the money he lost by not being drafted as expected in the first round, Collins broke up the room by saying, "I'm still getting paid. It's a lot more than I got in college."

The Cowboys pulled off a coup by bringing Collins to Dallas the night before. He had already been courted by the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. But he said he was truly touched by the interest the Cowboys showed.

"I got a call from [Cowboys owner Jerry] Jones a couple of nights ago and we had a long talk," Collins said. "It was the first time I thought someone had seen me for who I am. I had the opportunity to choose, from 32 teams, where I wanted to be. I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy."

Jones, who also picked projected first-round talent Randy Gregory of Nebraska in the second round, scored a coup with Collins.

"He is driven to success. He's going to show it," Jones said La'el Collins. "It will be a great story."

LSU coach Les Miles, who coached for three years in Dallas as an assistant, lashed out at the NFL over the handling of Collins in the draft. He said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should rectified the situation that cost Collins as much as $8 million through no fault of his own.

"He could have been put in a supplemental draft and paid his market value," Miles told a group of reporters Thursday.

"What I'd like to see is a guy who's really performed well for our team, given us great leadership, continued to raise his level headed toward draft day, be given just and fair market value," Miles said.

Collins joins an already sterling offensive line that includes first round picks Tyrone Smith, Travis Frederick and last year's top pick, Zack Martin, who made the Pro Bowl. It's not clear where Collins fits in but he can play tackle or guard.

"This is going to be the best offensive line in the history of the NFL," he said.

Collins finally spoke to police on Monday and reportedly told police he was in New Orleans with family at the time of the murder, which occurred April 24.

Collins connection cleared up further when police said he was not the father of the child, Brenton Mills, who initially survived the shooting but died a week later.

Because he was not drafted, Collins became available to all 32 teams as an undrafted free agent. He was projected as a first-round draft pick and could have gone in the top 15 and had a contract worth as much as $10 million.

Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan reportedly met with him Monday night in violation of NFL rules for contact with free agents.

On Tuesday, three Miami Dolphin players and former LSU Tigers visited Collins in Baton Rouge on an unofficial recruiting trip. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry and defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, both former LSU teammates of Collins, were joined by linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who left LSU in 2010.

La'el talking.......

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2015/05/02/live-press-conference

How come Les hasn't said something before now? I'm kind of surprised by that.

I don't think it was the right time. There was too much unknown. He may have told teams that asked that Collins was a great guy but you just can't know what happens off the field.

The whole situation was fucked up. Collins' agent fucked up his situation by telling teams that he would not sign if drafted in the lower rounds. No one picked him and then he fell into the undrafted free agent category that can't reapply for the next draft. Don't tell you opponents your card strategy at the poker table.

At least he got to choose the team he wanted, got guaranteed contract, and only had to sign a 3 year deal.

You don't think it's a little chicken shit to be calling the NFL out when you yourself said nothing in his favor before he was cleared?

Completely agree, most of us knew he had nothing to do with this and we have never met him. Way to speak up for your kids Leslie.

Too many things come into play in a case like this. I wouldn't go putting any blame on Les right now.

I was at Cypress Ridge yesterday, got to make two schools today, one was Cy-Fair. Cy-Fair Head Girls Basketball coach is a BTR girl, has won a state championship more than once and coached a number of All-Americans. Ann Robique, played at Redemptorist and McNeese.

Well thats real nice, did she speak up for La'el? Did she have some reason why Les didn't? Where are you going with this?