Elliott to finally make debut, expects chemistry to follow

Running back Ezekiel Elliott is set to make his preseason debut for the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday when they face the Seattle Seahawks, but Elliott said he felt he could have played Friday against the Miami Dolphins.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott is set to make his preseason debut for the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday when they face the Seattle Seahawks, but Elliott said he felt he could have played Friday against the Miami Dolphins.

FRISCO, Texas -- Rookie fourth-overall pick Ezekiel Elliott will make his long-awaited Dallas Cowboys debut in Thursday's preseason game at the Seattle Seahawks.

Elliott missed the first two preseason games out of precaution because of a sore hamstring, but he is ready to officially don the Cowboys blue star for the first time.

"I'm excited to get some full-go action. It's been a long time since I played," Elliott said. "I'm looking forward to Thursday."

The former Ohio State star hasn't played in a game and hasn't been tackled since the Fiesta Bowl matchup against Notre Dame on Jan. 1 when he rushed 27 times for 160 yards and four touchdowns to solidify his status as one of the top prospects in the NFL draft.

He won't have that much of an impact against the Seahawks. Considering it's his first game, he likely won't play as long as the rest of the starters, who are expected to play roughly two quarters.

Coach Jason Garrett said the Cowboys will have a package of plays for Elliott to get him some touches and get him acclimated with the offense.

"What we try to do with the players who are playing in their first game is we have eight, 10, 12 plays -- sometimes we go 15 to 20 plays with guys," Garrett said. "We'll have a plan for him. We'll talk about that over the next couple days. Typically, with running backs we want to make sure they get a couple touches, throw them a couple passes, let them do different things -- the things they're going to do in games."

Elliott couldn't have played the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams. He said he felt he could have played in last Friday's preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, but was held out as a precaution.

"It was definitely tough," Elliott said. "You've just got to take a look at the bigger picture. You don't want to do anything bad to a soft tissue injury. Just kind of waiting it out and waiting my chance."

Elliott doesn't believe he missed too much because he paid attention and got mental reps while he was sidelined. He also received a good dose of work in organized team activities, minicamp and the first week of training camp before being sidelined with the tight hamstring.

The only thing he needs work with is the chemistry with the line.

"I think it takes a couple of games to get the timing down perfectly, but I think we will be just fine," Elliott said. "I think it's a chemistry thing, feeling each other out. The more you play with each other, the better it's going to be."

Owner Jerry Jones said Elliott has looked good the past few days of practice and he already knows he has something special in his first round pick, who he said is the real deal.

"How he looked initially, I have seen enough," Jones said on his radio show Tuesday. "He is everything we hoped he would be."

Elliott is ready for all the expectations, including following in the Hall of Fame footsteps of legendary Cowboys runners Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith.

"Just my first game period, it's just exciting to finally be out there," Elliott said. "I'm just ready.

"There is a lot of pressure in the situation I'm in. I don't try to make much of it. Nobody can expect more out of me than I do myself. I'm just going to go out there and do what I do. Everything will work out."

Sports on 08/24/2016

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