Football season has arrived!

Now, when it comes to pro football and my favorite teams, the Cowboys and Texans, I usually don't start watching until the regular season starts. But this year I will be glued to the tube when the Cowboys open preseason play Thursday night against San Diego.

That's because there is a young man from East Texas who played ball at SFA last year who will be taking center stage in the Dallas Cowboy's backfield. No. 37 Gus Johnson is now wearing a star for America's Team.

The Gilmer native was signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent for this year's training camp. The chances of an undrafted free agent making the final team cut for the regular season is somewhere between slim and none

But, Gus the Bus (as he's called) is getting a lot of early praise from coaches, analysts, and spectators. Due to early training camp injuries to other running backs (Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle), Johnson has been getting quite a bit of playing time with the first team offense.

Yeah, Gus has been taking handoffs from Tony Romo, running behind the best offensive line in the NFL, and getting 'attaboys' from Jason Witten.

So, what happens to Johnson when the other backs get healthy?

A lot of that depends on how he responds to real game situations, just like this Thursday against the Chargers. Johnson could very likely get the start in that game, ahead of all the injured backs and ahead of the only other tailback in camp, Lache Seastruck, who played college ball at Baylor.

If Gus the Bus has a great game, does that mean he has a good chance to make the final roster of 53 late in August? Probably not, but stranger things have happened. At this point, at the very least, Johnson wants to make the practice squad. Which means if an injury occurs in the regular season to one of the Cowboy's running backs, he would probably get called up to the regular roster.

Dallas will probably carry only three tailbacks on the team this year and McFadden, Randle and Lance Dunbar are trying to lock down the pecking order for those three slots.

But, if one of those running backs cannot get over their injuries, or if Johnson continues to impress like he has, he could very well push one of those guys for a final roster spot.

So, let's cheer for the Bus and hope he has a huge game!

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