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Wednesday, November 19, 1997

Tony Hutson performs well in his first extended playing time

By Roger B. Brown

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - Before the Cowboys' first offensive play against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, Tony Hutson hoped he didn't look too nervous. But that wasn't working. Everything was shaking; his knees were knocking.

In fact, Hutson was so nervous he hardly heard a word quarterback Troy Aikman said. As the team broke the huddle, he moved toward the line of scrimmage with no idea what play had been called.

As he moved into his stance at tackle, he asked guard Larry Allen, who was lining up beside him, to pinch him.

"I just wanted to make sure that the situation was real and that I wasn't dreaming," Hutson said. "I also wanted to ask him the snap count, but I played it off and just waited until the rest of the guys moved.

"It was hard to believe that I was starting and in the huddle with Troy, Emmitt (Smith), Michael (Irvin) and Nate (Newton). Remember, it was only a couple of weeks ago when I was on the practice squad and not even dressing out for the games."

Sunday proved to be a day to remember for Hutson, who more than held his own filling for injured All-Pro right tackle Erik Williams. And just for Hutson to be on the field was a victory for him.

Only a week earlier, Hutson (6-foot-3, 313 pounds) was called up from the practice squad after numerous injuries had depleted the offensive line. After getting in three plays in the victory against Arizona, Hutson was thrust into the starting lineup in what may have been the biggest game to date this season.

"He was solid," Newton said. "Nothing was coming off his corner. He did his job. He's a good football player. Last week, he stayed after practice and got in some extra work in preparation for his big chance. I was proud of him. It was a good showing."

Overcoming adversity and obstacles seems to be the norm for this lineman player from Northeast Oklahoma State.

Although he spent last season on the practice squad after signing as a free agent, he was highly thought of because of his athleticism. Hutson played two years on the offensive line in college after spending two years on the defensive line at Kilgore Junior College.

Just before the 1996 draft, he had a benign tumor the size of a golf ball removed from his lung, a condition that kept him from being drafted. Then, in June this year, he broke his right wrist and had to have surgery.

The wrist hampered Hutson during training camp, and he was let go during the final cut before the regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He eventually re-signed to be on the practice squad.

"At first, I thought that was cancer in my wrist," Hutson said. "But afterwards, I just stopped worrying about it. I told myself from that point on that I was just going to go out and enjoy life by making the best of things.

"Who would have thought that I'd have even been in this situation a couple of years ago? So, I checked myself and changed my attitude."

And how. Hutson has taken on the responsibility of raising his younger sister after promising his mother he would do so. The added responsibility has helped him to put life in perspective.

"I'm just happy to be here contributing," Hutson said. "I'm glad that I was able to have a good enough game last week and not let anybody down. I appreciate the coaches giving me the chance and showing the confidence in me to get the job done."

Cowboys offensive line coach Hudson Houck said he was more than pleased with Hutson's effort against Washington. In fact, Houck said there would be no hesitation to go to Hutson this week if Williams' sprained right ankle forced him out of the lineup again. And, Houck added there could be some discussion about maybe shifting Hutson to left tackle.

"He has all of the tools; he just needs to gain some confidence," Houck said. "He was filling some mighty big shoes last week, but I had a real good feeling that he could get the job done.

"He has strong character and has been with us for a while now. He is learning the system pretty well, and we're glad to have him around. He's only going to get better because he has so much unlimited potential."

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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