Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jeremy Mincey (92) celebrates after an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys won 24-20. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Here's the story of Jeremy Mincey's athletic career, in one short scene:

It's 2001. He's a high school junior in Statesboro, Ga., and he says he can play point guard for his school basketball team. The head coach, Lee Hill, does not think Mincey, a bulky forward, can play the position, and he's tired of hearing about it.

"He wasn't quick or agile enough to be no point guard," Hill says now.

The coach tells Mincey, "You want to play point guard? You play against this boy right here."

Hill points to the starting point guard, a kid named Ryan.

"You beat this boy one-on-one, then you can play point guard."

View photos Jeremy Mincey had six sacks last season for the Cowboys. (AP) More

Hill stands back and watches Mincey, too slow and too big, beat the starting point guard at one-on-one.

So did the coach let Mincey play point guard?

"No. I didn't," Hill says. "No way."

Move ahead nearly 15 years and Mincey is brought in to the Dallas Cowboys' locker room in 2014 to replace DeMarcus Ware. To pretty much everyone in the NFL, this is a colossal downgrade. Ware is one of the best linemen playing, and he was a staple of the Cowboys' defense. Mincey, who had floated from team to team and been cut several times, looks like, at best, a stopgap.

"The fire was lit," Mincey says. "I heard people say, 'They're gonna be 3-13.' I took it personal."

The Cowboys won the NFC East and won a playoff game. No doubt the leading reasons were Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and that offensive line, but Mincey's place as a defensive anchor was a big part of the resurgence. And he was an even bigger part of what went on in the locker room. Head coach Jason Garrett made the new guy a captain before the first preseason game, and tight end Jason Witten called on Mincey to make a pregame speech before Week 1.

Less than a year later, Mincey arrived this week at OTAs and he is surrounded by defensive teammates with all sorts of off-field issues: Greg Hardy, Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory to name a few. The team placed Hardy's locker next to Mincey's, and the veteran has even brought the new guy into his music studio where he records songs the Cowboys quote in the locker room. It's Mincey who is trusted to mentor and hold this group together. It's Mincey who has become one of the most important Cowboys in what has become a most important season.

"Mincey," Hardy has already asked, "how'd you get to 10 years in the league?"

Same way he beat the point guard in high school.

Jeremy Mincey lies to the eyes a little bit. He exudes jolly, with a round face and a sheepish grin. While players like Hardy can appear intense even at rest, Mincey seems less "Release the Kraken" and more "Release the Wisecracks." He even has a music career on the side, and opened up for L'il Wayne once in Jacksonville.

But Mincey can be quite serious inside, especially about the lessons he learned growing up. "I've been arrested a few times," he says of his youth. "I've been sitting in a jailhouse."

He even spent time in a reform school during junior high. Growing up in Statesboro was not easy, as Hill says Mincey was "a really poor kid." There were times when the coach knew Mincey couldn't get a ride to practice, and yet he showed up anyway, having walked for miles.

Mincey was a cut-up in class, and for a long time he indulged in it.

"When you're from poverty, you do a lot of things because you want attention," he said. "My personality was my niche in life. Sometimes I would sacrifice my relationship with a teacher to win the class over."

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