Whatever happens with the rest of Simi Fehoko’s Cowboys career, the wide receiver will no doubt always remember the unique way it started. When he got the call during Saturday’s fifth round to tell him he was the 179th overall selection, it wasn’t the voice of owner Jerry Jones that he heard on the other end of the line. It wasn’t chief operating officer Stephen Jones. It wasn’t vice president of player personnel Will McClay. It wasn’t even head coach Mike McCarthy.
It was actually the team’s chief brand officer who officially offered the first Cowboys greeting to Fehoko.
“Hi, Simi, this is Charlotte Jones. I’m Jerry’s daughter,” the call began.
"Worth the wait" for @Simi_Fehoko 🙌 #DallasCowboys
Secret Audio presented by @ATT pic.twitter.com/a08W7Ykmj3
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) May 1, 2021
“I am a fellow Stanford alum, and I just wanted to welcome you to the Dallas Cowboys. We could use some more smart people around here.”
The Cardinal receiver has had an interesting path just to get to the NFL, so perhaps it’s no surprise that his introductory phone call was just a little out of the ordinary, too.
The 6-foot-3 Fehoko was a two-time All-Pac-12 player during his time in Palo Alto. Last season, he set a school single-game record with 16 catches (for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns) in the double-overtime Rose Bowl against UCLA. He finished his Stanford career with the third-best yards-per-catch average in school history.
At 23 years old, Fehoko is not the average rookie. The Utah native spent two years on a mission trip to South Korea before starting college. And having gotten married in early 2020 just as the pandemic began, he and his wife haven’t even had a chance to travel for a proper honeymoon; Fehoko joked with media members that his first trip to Frisco would have to suffice.
Fehoko was arguably destined to be a Cowboy. Following his first interview with the Dallas media, Fehoko shared a photo on Twitter of himself wearing the star and a Troy Aikman jersey as his very first Halloween costume.
It’s been written. @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/I7zkvgy9L9
— Simi Fehoko (@Simi_Fehoko) May 1, 2021
“I grew up a Cowboys fan,” Fehoko told reporters on a conference call Saturday.
If Fehoko wants to be issued a real Cowboys uniform, though, he’s likely going to have to make an impact on special teams. With a stocked wide receiver room, playing time as a pass-catcher may be hard to come by for the rookie.
But at least the owner’s daughter will be pulling for him.
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