Gonzalez Makes Speedy Impression : Landry Likes the Chances of Dallas’ Rookie Wide Receiver

Of the 12 receivers on their training camp roster, the Dallas Cowboys will keep four, perhaps five.

Obviously, unless there is a drastic change in their performance, they will keep four incumbents: Tony Hill, Kirk Phillips, Mike Renfro and Duriel Harris.

Among the eight vying for the No. 5 spot is Leon (Speedy) Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, a 5-10, 160-pound flash from Bethune Cookman, is the Cowboys’ eighth-round draft choice. Gonzalez, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, possesses 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

“I think Leon has a good chance,” Dallas Coach Tom Landry said. “He’s a smooth receiver; he’s got speed. He’s small, but he makes up for it with his speed and his ability to catch the ball and run routes.

“He’d be one of the ones I’d single out as having a possibility in making at making it.”

Gonzalez caught 99 passes for Bethune Cookman over the last two seasons, helping the Wildcats win the Mideastern Athletic Conference Division championship in 1984.

He says he is catching on to the Cowboys’ complicated offensive system with the help from some of the team’s veterans.

“In rookie camp, you go over the basic plays,” the 21-year-old Gonzalez said. “When the vets get here, you’re going over things at a much faster rate and going over formations you have yet to see.

“We just got the regular playbook this morning. With people like Tony Hill around, I think it can make my adjustment a lot easier by just being around and watching him. Today he gave me some words of advice. I played under the pro-style offense in college. Once I get all the shifting down, I’ll be all right.”

Gonzalez was referring to the various formations Cowboy running backs and receivers go into on the signal call by the quarterback. Gonzalez thinks his biggest challenge is learning the system.

“Two weeks ago, we got our rookie playbook and I started feeling comfortable during the scrimmages,” Gonzalez said. “Today we got the bigger playbook, and that’s the one we’re going to use the during the season.”

In Thursday’s scrimmage against the Rams at Cal State Fullerton, Gonzalez had one catch for four yards.

“You can’t really say that you did good or bad because you’re only in for 12 plays,” Gonzalez said. “Because there are so many receivers, you don’t really get to stay in long time.”

Cowboy Notes

Friday afternoon’s workout marked the Cowboys’ first full workout of rookies and veterans, who reported to camp on Thursday. The rookies spent the morning reviewing the Ram scrimmage film and the veterans took their physicals . . . Coach Tom Landry has been impressed with free agent defensive tackle David Ponder. Ponder, making a second attempt to make the Cowboys after being cut last year, has made an impression on the coach. “Ponder has been a competitor,” Landry said of the former Florida State player. “If he can do the same thing that he did with the rookies, he might be one of the better defensive lineman out there.”