FRISCO — Jeff Heath had to earn it.

At age 17, the safety looked like a skinny post he was supposed to defend. No Division I schools pursued him. Central Michigan didn’t want him as a walk-on. During a 90-minute carpool ride to visit a Division II college, he wasn’t the most desired defensive-back recruit from his high school in the vehicle.

The visit went well enough; Saginaw Valley State later offered him a scholarship, albeit a partial one.

What followed was the decision that steered Heath’s life. He made the NFL as an undrafted rookie, became a starter, Dallas Cowboys team captain and married a Cowboys cheerleader. They have an 8-month-old daughter and plan to call North Texas their long-term home.

“It’s like a storybook,” said John Blackstock, Heath’s former secondary coach and now the head coach at Lake Orion High in Orion Township, Michigan. “You wouldn’t write that script for a TV show or a movie because they wouldn’t believe it.”

Heath will be inducted Friday into his high school alma mater’s Wall of Excellence, an honor recognizing his path to the NFL. Maybe the most surprising part of his unlikely journey is how Cowboys fans haven’t fully embraced it. The blue-collar mentality behind his ascent has resonated more within the organization.

Teammates and coaches see his daily approach.

They also know his story.

Coach Jason Garrett occasionally selects veteran players to speak during team meetings. In August, he chose Heath, a steady contributor since 2013 who for two straight seasons has been the only NFL player to exceed 800 snaps on offense or defense while playing at least 250 snaps on special teams.

Teammates heard him speak. In early September, they voted him a captain.

“Just where he came from, the guy scratched and clawed to be here,” cornerback Byron Jones said. “People like me get a silver spoon up their ass because I’m a first-round pick. He comes in (undrafted) on like third-team special teams. He’s running downfield, knocking people’s heads off, and he’s turning coaches’ heads.

“He really, truly did it the hard way.”

Road to the NFL

Jeff Heath punts the ball for Lake Orion High School during the 2008 Michigan state championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. Lake Orion lost to Rockford, 26-14. Heath is now a starting safety and team captain for the Dallas Cowboys. (Courtesy of Lake Orion High School)

Early in Heath’s childhood, there were hints he’d develop into the athlete he became.

His mother Dianne Heath recalls being pregnant with his sister Melanie. To keep the brother-to-be occupied, she sometimes slow-pitched a plastic ball to him. Neighbors gawked, she says, when a 4-year-old Jeff slugged pitches two houses down. On evenings before bedtime, Jeff and his father Mike often played catch inside the house. Build a streak to a targeted number and then lights out.

Twenty straight catches became 50 straight. Fifty straight became 100. Then 200-plus.

In elementary school, the complaints began.

“I remember the principal calling me and asking me to discuss with Jeff, ‘Don’t be a competitor on the playground,’” Dianne said. “‘Just play for fun when you’re at school, and you can be a competitor when you’re outside of school.’ And I’m trying to explain that to a 10-year-old, and he looked at me and said, ‘Mom, what’s the sense of playing if you’re not going to play your best and try to win?’”

Jeff took to soccer, football, basketball and eventually track. Not considered the best or most naturally gifted athlete, he approached athletics seriously enough to work hard but not seriously enough that he lost fun. A key lesson arose along the way, fueling his development into an NFL player.

Jeff was on the “B” team, never “A,” on the Vardar Soccer Club of Michigan. In prep football, he didn’t make junior varsity until his sophomore year or varsity until a junior. He was a backup safety at one point instead of a starter.

If frustration arose, his parents did not coddle.

Mike Heath ran the area’s youth football league for a period. He played in semi-pro and flag football leagues, bringing Jeff on the road with him to various Midwest tournaments. He has been an offensive position coach at Lake Orion High since before Jeff arrived as a student and remains there today.

But while involved in sports or school, he and wife Dianne were conscious about being hands-off, too, letting Jeff know he was the one ultimately in control.

“I think Jeff always had a pretty realistic expectation that whatever he was going to do, he was going to get out of it what he put into it,” Mike said. “That was probably (ingrained) into him since infancy: ‘You get out what you put in. That’s what happens.’ And I think, as long as we were consistent with that, he always knew that anything he wanted, whatever he wanted to do at whatever level he wanted to do it at, required the appropriate amount of effort and sacrifice. …

“Let’s say he wasn’t a starter or he wasn’t getting on the team he wanted. It would be, ‘Well, what have you done to earn it? Don’t (complain) at me about it. Work harder and earn it.’”

Jeff had a productive run in varsity football.

He worked at wide receiver, safety, kicker and punter while exhibiting a knack for big plays. As a senior, Lake Orion trailed Romeo High 23-10 at halftime in the Division I district final. He helped spark the comeback win, breaking multiple tackles on a 35-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. A week later, he converted a 49-yard field goal with seconds remaining in a 38-36 win over Sterling Heights Stevenson for the regional title.

All his athletic moments led to one decision. He could accept a full ride to play Div. I soccer — Oakland University in Michigan would’ve been the choice — or pursue Div. II football on a partial scholarship, saving just $2,000 toward his tuition cost.

Heath hesitated but followed his passion.

He chose football.

‘Same guy’

Jeff Heath celebrates with his Lake Orion High School teammates during a 34-28 victory against Adams High School in 2008. Heath played wide receiver and safety and also punted and kicked field goals for a Lake Orion team that reached the Michigan state championship game. Heath is now a starting safety and team captain for the Dallas Cowboys. (Nick Couretas)

If one Cowboys moment embodies Heath, multiple members of the organization say, it wouldn’t be the time he intercepted and sacked Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a playoff game or when he kept 2017 playoff hopes alive, forcing Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to fumble near the goal line for a safety.

It wouldn’t be a different turnover or hit.

Fittingly, it’s a play that went overlooked publicly.

Heath has worked as the personal protector on the Cowboys’ punt team since his 2013 rookie year. On Dec. 14, 2014, they played the Philadelphia Eagles. During the second half, an exotic punt rush was dialed up where one Eagles player held long snapper L.P. Ladouceur and another looped inside from across the formation into the “A” gap.

Heath already was helping to block one rusher, safety Chris Prosinski.

Now, he somehow had to account for this one, safety Chris Maragos.

Heath rolled into Prosinksi with his right shoulder. While pressing against him, he kept rolling with his back toward Maragos, extended his left arm and socking Maragos in the chest with his left elbow. Punt’s away.

“I can’t tell you the number of times that he’s made up for a mistake in punt protection and covered somebody else’s ass,” special teams coordinator Keith O’Quinn said. “Able to take on two guys. Able to make us right. Not many guys can make those types of plays. … Over the years, it seems like I’m always using Jeff as an example of what to do.

“When I show a play and I want a clinic tape reel and start pulling plays of what (proper execution) looks like, usually I end up with a tape of plays from 38. That’s just what happens. Not purposely. But I end up with a clinic reel tape of 38. ‘Here’s how to do it, guys.’ … He’s the leader. He’s the bell cow in that room.”

Heath hasn’t changed much since high school.

He returns every offseason to hold a football camp. All proceeds have gone to support the school’s football program, said Chris Bell, Heath’s former head coach and now the Lake Orion athletic director. He still plays multiple positions. And he’s still overlooked.

The trade deadline is Tuesday.

Some fans and pundits clamor for a bigger name or flashier player.

“Jeff is the type of player that isn’t going to be outspoken on the field, flamboyant,” secondary coach Greg Jackson said. “He’s going to do his job, get his hits, make his tackles, make his interceptions and keep playing. That’s why I think a lot of people don’t recognize Jeff just because what type of player he is. ‘I’m going to get my job done. I’m going to leave it at that. And every play I play is going to be full speed.’

“And that’s what you don’t see in a lot of these other players around the league. When you watch Jeff on that film, he’s competing every (expletive) play. … I’d rather take a hard-working player who is mentally prepared than a flashy player. With Jeff, you’re going to get consistency every single week.”

Heath said that he’s not motivated to prove people wrong. He wants to prove people right.

He proved Saginaw Valley State right for investing in a 175-pound safety. He proved the Cowboys right for being aggressive in the pre-draft process; then-scout Kevin Simon kept the communication line open.

“One thing I have started doing is just realizing how lucky I am,” Heath, 28, said. “If I never played another down in the NFL, which obviously I want to — I want to keep playing because I love it — but if I was never able to play another down, I could be proud of what I’ve accomplished. And not what I’ve accomplished but how I’ve accomplished it, really.

“I take a lot of pride when I go back home and people say, ‘You’re the same guy; it’s the same Jeff from 2008.’ That makes me feel really good because that’s my goal. I just want to be the same guy I’ve always been.”

Twitter: @GehlkenNFL

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