James Hanna emerged thanks to Kyle Orton, says Cowboys' new tight ends coach Wes Phil

[SoonerLibertarian]

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com...#storylink=cpy

James Hanna began to deliver on the Cowboys’ investment in him late last season, and one person they can thank is backup quarterback Kyle Orton.
He stayed on the rookie tight end’s case, and it paid off, said new tight ends coach Wes Phillips.
“People saw the end result where he started making plays, but we also saw when he was running scout team at the beginning of the year and Kyle Orton is on him every single day about how to practice, how to be a pro, how to work,” Phillips said Thursday in meeting reporters for the first time in his new job. “He really made some strides.”
Hanna, drafted in the sixth round out of Oklahoma last year, caught a p**** in the season opener – his only catch for the first 12 games – but had seven catches in the last four games.
“He really impressed us as far as his work ethic and how he went about his job,” Phillips said. “Learning how to finish, learning how to go about meetings and study and prepare, all those sort of things. He’s a very intelligent guy, and we’re looking forward to continuing his development.”
-- Carlos Mendez

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com...#storylink=cpy

[SoonerDan74012]

He's been a pleasant surprise for us Cowboys fans. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how much more involved he'll be in the offense and with Witten being another year older it will be a great time to start grooming him to be his eventual replacement for Witten.

[soonerbldr]

The only negative from this story is his work ethic. I wonder if he was like that because he was not ready or lack of coaching at OU. I remember another article about one of our D linemen that went to the NFL and he said until he got in the pros he never really learned how to properly tackle. Kind of a scary thought.

[OUrage]

Kyle Orton would be Cowboys starter if anyone there knew how to run a football team. Damn backups getting credit for coaches job. Cowboys have become a joke and im laughing my **** off.

[SoonerLegend11]

Kyle Orton would be Cowboys starter if anyone there knew how to run a football team. Damn backups getting credit for coaches job. Cowboys have become a joke and im laughing my **** off.

[tfoolry]

Sad but true.

[heff]

The only negative from this story is his work ethic. I wonder if he was like that because he was not ready or lack of coaching at OU. I remember another article about one of our D linemen that went to the NFL and he said until he got in the pros he never really learned how to properly tackle. Kind of a scary thought.

Gerald McCoy

[BarrydKing]

Back in the day, Kevin Wilson would frequently dial-up the Hanna TD p****.

[Big Red One]

The only negative from this story is his work ethic. I wonder if he was like that because he was not ready or lack of coaching at OU. I remember another article about one of our D linemen that went to the NFL and he said until he got in the pros he never really learned how to properly tackle. Kind of a scary thought.

I believe that this is a large part due the limited pratice time that college players have, NCAA rules limit it to 20 hours per week. The pros don't any such limits, unless you count off-season activities.