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Dez Bryant, the former Oklahoma State wide receiver, who lost his eligibility when he lied to the NCAA about his relationship with Deion Sanders, is doing a TV spot this week.

Bryant, who is projected to be the first wide receiver taken in the NFL Draft in April, will shoot a spot with Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings for Under Armour this week.

"I'm pretty excited about it," Bryant said. "It's bassed on training and the combine."

Bryant had to wear Nike shirts while at Oklahoma State, but used to wear Under Armour under the Nike stuff.

“I had that tight fitted shirt with that UA symbol on it and that was fun,” Bryant said. “ Under Armour is nice and they are great people.”

The second in a series looking at each of the Dallas Cowboys’ position groups:

Players: Marion Barber (signed through 2014), Felix Jones (signed through 2012), Tashard Choice (signed through 2011), Deon Anderson (signed through 2010)

What went right: The Cowboys accomplished their goal of becoming a top-10 rushing team, ranking seventh in the NFL with 131.4 yards per game. Their average of 4.8 yards per carry was tied for second behind the Tennessee Titans.

Felix Jones missed a couple of games with a sprained knee, but he showed at the end of the season that he’s capable of carrying a heavier workload than he had. Jones had double-digit carries in the final six games, including the playoffs. His 16-carry, 148-yard, one-TD performance in the playoff win against the Philadelphia Eagles provided a glimpse of a back with star potential.

Tashard Choice also excelled when given opportunities. His average of 5.5 yards per carry was only slightly lower than Jones, and Choice proved that he can be a dependable third-down back.

What went wrong: Marion Barber had significant health concerns and fading down the stretch for the second consecutive season. He hasn’t provided much bang for the buck after signing a seven-year, $45 million contract.

Barber’s struggles in short-yardage situations are a serious concern. If he doesn’t get stuffed on three consecutive goal-line plays against the Chargers, the Cowboys might have won that game and earned a bye in the playoffs, meaning they wouldn’t have had to travel to Minnesota.

Choice has been a team player, but he’s frustrated that he doesn’t have a larger role. He had only 64 carries in the regular season – and no more than four in any of the last 11 games.

What’s next: The Cowboys have interesting decisions to make this offseason.

The easy decision is to make Jones the lead horse. With the Cowboys’ depth at tailback, he doesn’t need to be a workhorse, but Dallas has to get its most dynamic player about 15 touches per game. He’s a major part of this franchise’s future.

Does Barber come back? He’s due a guaranteed $3.8 million bonus, but the Cowboys might be better off with Jones and Choice sharing carries. Barber is only 26, but the bruising runner appears to already be wearing down.

If the Cowboys keep Barber, Choice could be trade bait. It’d be tough to turn down an offer of a second- or high third-round pick for a No. 3 back.

If either Barber or Choice is gone, the Cowboys will likely draft a tailback in the middle rounds. Considering their recent track record – Barber and Choice were fourth-round picks – that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

Anderson’s job is in serious jeopardy after his recent arrest at an Addison bar and restaurant, resulting in a misdemeanor deadly conduct charge. Owner/general manager Jerry Jones said last week that he had not talked to Anderson yet and didn’t see it as a priority. Tight end John Phillips proved he could play fullback last season, and the Cowboys can find a traditional fullback in the late rounds if they wish.

PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS

Quarterbacks

Now that the Super Bowl is over, it's time to worry about the offseason regarding the Cowboys.

First things first: the parties. With the NBA All-Star Game in town this week, several players will attend parties across the area. Miles Austin, Jason Hatcher, Patrick Crayton, DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James are among those who will host parties this week.

Now, the business at hand.

Injuries

Jay Ratliff (elbows) and Ware (bone spur) were slated to undergo surgeries. Neither has done so.

Free agents

The Cowboys have 13 restricted free agents and one unrestriced free agent. The four biggest names on this list, Austin, Hatcher, Marcus Spears and Stephen Bowen, are restricted.

I would suspect Spears would receive either a first-round tender offer of $2.6 million or a first- and third-round tender offer of $3.2 million. Spears would like a new deal, since his rookie contract just expired, but with the owners opting out of the current CBA, Spears becomes restricted instead of unrestricted.

Hatcher, meanwhile could get a second-round tender of $1.7 million or even the first-round tender of $2.5 million. Hatcher's reps think he will get a tender instead of a new contract.

Bowen is in the same boat as Hatcher financially but had a better year. He should get a first-round tender of $2.5 million.

What should you do with Austin?

Do you offer him a first- and third-round tender deal of $3.1 million? Jerry Jones has said he would like to work out a longterm deal for Austin. Is the tender offer too small, considering he's coming off a career year which earned him a Pro Bowl berth?

You could put the exclusive franchise tag on Austin, which costs you $9.5 million, and if he produces in the 2010 season then work out a longterm deal with him.

Kicker

Something needs to be done at placekicker. Do you sign Matt Stover, the 42-year-old Lake Highlands grad. His last kick was a 51-yard miss for the Colts in the Super Bowl. He had the distance, but it went wide left.

ESPN analyst Herm Edwards thinks the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets will be the teams to beat in the 2010 season.

Former SMU and Cowboys linebacker Justin Rogers was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.

Rogers played in only one game for Kansas City in 2009. He played in 31 games with Dallas (2007-08) before joining the Chiefs.

The first in a series looking at each of the Dallas Cowboys’ position groups:

Players: Tony Romo (signed through 2013), Jon Kitna (signed through 2013), Stephen McGee (signed through 2012)

What went right: Romo, who played every offensive down this season, proved that making plays and placing an emphasis on protecting the ball don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Romo drastically reduced his turnovers in what was arguably his best season. He threw only nine interceptions en route to breaking his own team record with 4,483 yards, the third-most in the NFL. He also ranked among the league’s top 10 in touchdown passes (26th), yards per attempt (8.15) and passer rating (97.6).

This was also the season in which Romo established himself as a leader. He was more vocal with his teammates, saying that he felt he had to earn that right over the years. He set the tone for accountability in the spring by vowing to fix what had been his biggest flaw (turnovers) and following through with it.

What went wrong: Romo wasn’t perfect. He played poorly in the loss to the Giants that spoiled the grand opening of Cowboys Stadium. He struggled in the playoff loss to the Vikings, taking a beating from the Minnesota front four. He never established a rapport with Roy Williams, although a lot of the blame for that goes on the receiver.

Kitna got paid good money to hold a clipboard. His inability to hold for kicks forced Romo into that role when it became an issue late in the season.

The Cowboys need to see much more out of McGee, drafted in the fourth round to be a developmental project. He struggled during training camp and the preseason. It’s too early to declare whether McGee can become an NFL-caliber quarterback, but he needs to show signs next summer.

What’s next: The Cowboys are set at this position. They’ll bring another quarterback to training camp, but that player is probably competing for a spot on the practice squad.

There is still room for Romo to grow, but this is the best the Cowboys have been at quarterback since Troy Aikman’s prime.

MIAMI -- Colts kicker Matt Stover is 42 years old and looked like it Sunday in the loss to the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV.

Stover, a Lake Highlands product, is thinking of retirement. He wasn't on the Colts roster at the start of the regular season because he was unemployed.

When Adam Vinatieri needed knee surgery, that was the only reason he was signed. However, the Jets, Giants and Browns expressed interest in Stover.

But now Stover is a free agent after a Super Bowl in which he went 1-for-2 on field goal tries. His miss from 51 yards was wide left.

When Stover attempted the kick, his foot hit the ground first then the ball. Stover turned away and pointed his index fingers up, as he always does -- good or bad.

This one wasn't good.

The fourth-quarter decision to attempt such a long kick was interesting.

The Colts led, 17-16, and were faced with a fourth-and-11 at the Saints 33. After the miss, the Saints got the ball, scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion to take a 24-17 lead they would not give up.

"There's no reason to believe that he wouldn't make it; he just happened to miss it," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said.

Stover hadn't made a kick from beyond 50 yards since the 2006 season. If a kicker can't make it from that range on a consistent basis, finding employment for the next year could be difficult.

MIAMI -- One of the biggest plays in Super bowl XLIV came from former SMU punter Thomas Morstead.

With the Saints trailing, 10-6, at halftime, coach Sean Payton came out of a meeting with the coaches and walked by Morstead's locker.

"It was 20 minutes left in halftime, and I wish he hadn't told me until the end," Morstead said. "He walked by me in passing and said it like it was no big deal."

After Payton told Morstead, he announced it to the rest of the team.

When Morstead came out for warmups after halftime was over, he was trying to practice one kickoff just to fake out the Colts.

"I kick the ball the same way every time," Morstead said. "To the deep right."

The onside kick is called ambush, and the funny thing about it is that Morstead just started practicing it a week and half ago. Normally, field goal kicker Garrett Hartley would attempt onside kicks.

Payton decided to try the onside kick because the coaches saw a hole in the coverage where the blockers backed up too much, leaving a space where a kick could bounce free.

"I wasn't worried, I was just terrified," Morstead said.

The ball bounced off a Colts blocker, and the Saints' Chris Reis recovered the ball, then lost it but recovered it again in the scrum.

"I was pulling guys off the pile when I saw Chris had it," Morstead said. "Then the referee pulls me away and then I hear 'Blue Ball.' That's when I went back in and I knew Chris recovered it. We were just fortunate."

After the referees said the Saints had the ball, they scored to take a 13-10 lead which eventually turned into a 31-17 victory.

"All week we had practiced that onside kick, and at halftime I just told those guys we have to make our look right here," Payton said. "It was a good hit by Thomas. Our guys did a good job of showing a normal kickoff coverage look, but it was something that we had seen in practice all week."

Morstead, a rookie who started his journey to the NFL as a walk-on at SMU before gaining a scholarship, had two punts for 88 yards for a 44-yard average. His longest was 46 yards, and he had one punt inside the 20.

Morstead is the first SMU player to get a Super Bowl ring since Dale Hellestrae did it with the Cowboys in 1996.

MIAMI -- So many Cowboys and local ties to the Saints' 31-17 victory over the Colts on Sunday night.

Sean Payton, the head coach, who was a Cowboys assistant coach under Bill Parcells was convinced not to take the Oakland job and got a raise from Jerry Jones instead.

Then Payton got an opportunity and took the Saints job.

There's Southlake Carroll's Garrett Hartley who set a Super Bowl record with three made field goals of 40 or more yards.

Linebacker Scott Shanle was traded from the Cowboys to the Saints for a seventh-round pick in 2007, and linebacker Scott Fujita decided to sign with the Saints in free agency in 2006.

Punter Thomas Morstead was a walkon at SMU a few years ago until earning a scholarship. He turned into the best punter coming out of the draft. In his rookie year, he was strong on kickoffs and became the first punter in the franchise history to win the NFC special teams award twice in the same season.

Sunday vs. the Colts, he opened the second half with an onside kick that was recovered by the Saints after a mad scramble.

So many things to talk about when we come back up from the locker room.

MIAMI -- Surprised the Colts attempted a 51 yard field goal with Lake Highlands Matt Stover. He hasn't made a kick of over 50 yards since 2006.

It was 4th-and-11 and maybe the Colts Jim Caldwell overruled Peyton Manning on going for it. But Stover, who is 42-years old, doesn't have the big leg he used to have. His leg is average at best.

The miss kept the score at 17-16 but now the Saints are driving into Colts territory.

MIAMI-- Garrett Hartley is having quite a night.

He's made three field goals, the latest one from 47 yards, a playoff career high. He's made kicks from 46, 44 and 47 yards tonight, and the Saints trail, 17-16, with 2:01 left in the third period.

Hartley is the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three field goals from more than 40 yards.

MIAMI -- Garrett Hartley ended the first half with a 44-yard field goal to bring the Saints within 10-6 here at Sun Life Stadium.

Hartley has made two field goals tonight and is 4-for-4 from 40-49 yards in the postseason. Hartley, from Southlake Carroll, has said he won't get caught up in the moment of the Super Bowl.

While Colts kicker Matt Stover is the oldest man playing in this Super Bowl at 42 years old, Hartley is a just a baby at 23.

He said that doesn't bother him, because he hasn't thought about it. Hartley said he thinks he should ponder being so young and playing in the biggest game of his career. But he won't for now.

Hartley, if you remember, kicked the winning field goal in overtime of the NFC title game against the Vikings to send the Saints to the Super Bowl.

What if it comes down to another kick to win a game?

"If it came down to it, so be it, I'll be ready," Hartley said.

MIAMI -- Southlake Carroll's finest, Garrett Hartley, just made a 46-yard field goal to bring the Saints within 10-3 of the Colts with 9:40 left in the first half. It was Hartley's longest made field goal of the postseason.

Hartley is 3-for-3 this postseason from 40-49 yards.

The field goal was attempted because the Colts' Dwight Freeney sacked the Saints' Drew Brees near the 30 on a third-down play.

MIAMI -- Of the 13 postseason punts by Saints punter Thomas Morstead, six have been inside the 20, including his second punt of the night, a 46-yarder that was downed by Courtney Roby at the Colts 4.

Morstead is off to a good start thus far for the Saints with a 44-yard average per punt. He said he wasn't going to be nervous going into his first Super Bowl.

He is a rookie after all, but Morstead said he just feels he needs to enjoy the moment.

MIAMI -- Colts 42 year old kicker Matt Stover, a Lake Highlands product, scored the first points of the game, a 38-yard field goal with 7:29 to play in the opening quarter here at Super Bowl XLIV.

It's been an emotional ride for Stover, who's mother is in a Dallas hospital recovering from surgery from a brain tumor. Stover said he's dedicating the postseason run to his 76-year old mom, Tasia Stover.

Tasia Stover underwent surgery in early January during the Colts' playoff run.

“It’s been an opportunity for me as a son, just to bring some happiness,” Stover said this week. “To me, just for them to say, ‘That’s my son up there on TV. That’s Ok. I know what my mom wants. She wants me to kick well and she doesn’t want me to be a distraction to her, and I made peace with her a long time ago. Meaning, we’re very close and we stay together. Very close. It’s a privilege for me to kick for her.”

Stover's future with the team is in doubt because he's a free agent after the season and the Colts have Adam Vinatieri recovering from knee surgery.