Like every team in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys are allowed to host 30 pre-draft visitors. Prospects come by Valley Ranch and talk shop with front office personnel and coaches.

But to give you a better behind-the-scenes look at what an official visit with the Cowboys is like, Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson is here to provide some details.

Lawson, projected by most to be a top 20 pick, visited the Cowboys last week.

For Lawson, the highlight was meeting Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

"That visit was great," he said. "I met Jerry Jones for the first time, so it was just like a dream come true."

Lawson has had official visits with several teams and said the meetings are similar. One aspect of his Cowboys visit that differed: talk of their new practice facility and team headquarters in Frisco.

"You go in there and see the facility, meet all the coaches, the GM, the player personnel, all those guys," Lawson said of his pre-draft visits. "The nice thing about Dallas is their new football facility. It was great seeing how they're building that facility, the fans are going to be there and kids can have a chance to play football on the field and things like that."

Lawson's time with the Cowboys lasted roughly three hours. Then it was back to the airport and off to another NFL city.

Here's a breakdown of Lawson's interactions with Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and, of course, Jones.

On Garrett:

"Coach Garrett is a great coach," Lawson said. "He reminded me of my head coach at Clemson, Coach [Dabo] Swinney. They had a lot of similarities to each other. I had a great vibe when I met with Coach Garrett. Off the field, you can tell he interacts with his players a lot. He enjoys and loves what he does. It's just that vibe I had with him, he seemed like Coach Swinney to me."

On Marinelli:

"Great defensive line coach," Lawson said. "He's been around the game a long time and he's coached a lot of great players. So I let him watch my tape and watch how he coaches. We had a great day with each other. When I came in, he knew my favorite pass-rushing move was the inside spin. He could tell that I liked to do that a lot. He was just coaching me on the things they do in Dallas, and the things he's done in his past years and what kind of players he had. He's been in the game so long, learning from a guy like him, if I go to Dallas, it's just going to make my game that much better."

On Jones:

"When I first met Jerry Jones, I was like he looks a little smaller on TV," Lawson said. "You really don't know until you get up to him. I was like, you're kind of big. I got a chance to talk to Jerry Jones for a while, just told him about my background, why I love the game of football, my story. It was like a dream come true. Meeting Jerry Jones after seeing him on TV all the time, so when I shook his hand, I had to give him a hug."

Lawson is considered by many to be the second-best 4-3 defensive end in this class behind Ohio State's Joey Bosa. While helping lead Clemson to the national championship game last season, the 6-3, 269-pound end totaled 12.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss.

At the scouting combine in February, Lawson turned in a 4.70 40-yard dash and a 4.21 20-yard shuttle, both times were tops among defensive ends.

Here are some other highlights from a Wednesday Q&A with the consensus All-American.

On how he'd fit on the Cowboys defensive line:

"I'd fit great on that defensive line, 4-3 front. They pass rush. I love to pass rush."

On what he'll bring to a team:

"I'm a guy that's going to set the edge against the run, a guy that's going to get after the quarterback, a guy that's used to winning, a guy who's going to put everything he's got into winning week-in and week-out."

On where he needs to improve most:

"I just need to clean up my technique. I study my game from last year, the little things I messed up on and continue to get better on those things, like get-off, hands, speed, all the little small details to be a successful defensive end at the next level, because you know you're going to have great guys on the offensive line. Everybody is going to be bigger, faster and stronger."

On which game tape fans should watch of him:

"The Notre Dame game. I went against the best offensive tackle in this draft class [Ronnie Stanley], probably a top five pick. I had a great game against him. You can see what I can really do and see what kind of player I am."

On AT&T Stadium:

"I actually played in that stadium in high school. I've been familiar with that stadium. I played in it and I also did an all-star challenge in there."

On what he's hearing about his draft stock:

"At this point I'm really not concerned. I'll play anywhere, cold, warm, anywhere. I'm just ready to get on a team and play football. I've been hearing possibly top five or 10 to 22. I'm just waiting on that day to hear my name called. I'm just working on my body and continuing to work on my game. I don't pay attention to any of those mock drafts."

On what it would mean to him to play for the Cowboys:

"That would mean a lot to me if a team like the Cowboys picked me up. I know they really need help at the pass-rush end. The legacy with Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and those guys, Dallas is a football city. The Dallas Cowboys are just known for great football players on their team. That would mean a lot to me."