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By STEVE DENNIS
DallasCowboys.com Columnist

OXNARD, Calif. - There's this co-worker of mine at CBS-11 Sports who has a theory.

Because I am an Ohio State alum, both very passionate and admittedly very obnoxious about Buckeye football, he loves to throw this theory in my face at every opportunity. I have grown a little tired of his theory, but he has probably grown a little tired of my response too - because it is always the same.

Not Eddie George. You don't know Eddie George. You are wrong about Eddie George.

The Theory?

Ohio State is to the NFL what Duke is to the NBA. He claims both schools in their history have produced many celebrated players who then turn professional and turn soft. He has a word for all of them, but let's just say he thinks they are weak-hearted.

He will then list all the Buckeyes in the NFL he believes support his theory. Some of those on the list have come through Valley Ranch, and there are some even I can't argue about, which says something.

But not Eddie George. He doesn't know Eddie George. He is wrong about Eddie George.

There was a scene in the Oscar-nominated movie "Seabiscuit," where injured jockey Red Pollard, who knows his horse better than anybody, tells his replacement jockey before the "greatest race ever" what his horse is all about. Red tells him, "It's not in the feet, its right here," as he points to his heart.

Now, I don't claim to know Buckeye football better than anybody else. OK, yeah I do, so trust me Cowboy fans and allow me to be your Red Pollard when it comes to your new horse at running back. Like Seabiscuit, it's not in Eddie's feet, it's in his heart.

I remember . . . Eddie George at the end of the 1993 season. He was only a sophomore, getting mop-up carries at the end of blowout games, but he was in line to replace Raymont Harris as the No. 1 back for the 1994 season. There was nothing about his 43 carries that season impressed me. I doubted he would do much his final two seasons.

Then I remember...Eddie George running onto the field for the '94 opener against Fresno State. He was not the same guy. I am convinced to this day no player in the history of college football worked out harder than Eddie George did that off season. He accepted the responsibility ahead of him, and became a beast.

I remember...Eddie George in the Wisconsin game of his Heisman winning 1995 season. Everybody else probably remembers the 219 yards against Washington in Game 2 or the 207 yards against Notre Dame in Game 4, but not me. I remember Game 6. The Bucks were undefeated, playing at Camp Randall Stadium, and getting beat. In big trouble in fact, in a place OSU always struggles.

The anxiety meter ran high that Saturday, that is, until Eddie decided to put it all on his back. I told myself that afternoon, I would never doubt Eddie George again. It was a come-from-behind 27-16 win, Eddie finished with 141 tough yards rushing and three touchdowns.

I remember...Eddie George in Tempe, Ariz., after Ohio State won the Fiesta Bowl and the 2002 national championship. About 30 minutes after the game, walking down toward the field, there was still much chaos, much hysteria, much beer and then, there was Eddie. He ran through the sea of scarlet and gray with a big ol' smile on his face, high-fiving anybody who could reach his outstretched hands.

Now normally, I am a somewhat cynical 22-year veteran of television sports journalism, but that night, I was eight years old again, doing whatever I could to get that high five. By the way, I didn't see any other Buckeyes on my co-workers list that night.

He doesn't know Eddie George, He is wrong about Eddie George.

For the past couple of weeks here during training camp at River Ridge, I have heard all the questions and concerns about Eddie George. As I watch him practice after practice, and after just five carries for 12 yards in the first preseason game, I find myself sort of chuckling inside. Maybe he is too old or too slow or all used up. I suppose after 128 straight starts (despite several injuries), more than 3,000 carries and 10,009 yards rushing, all could be true.

But Cowboy fans, you will get to know Eddie George this fall, and you will learn what your personal Red Pollard already knows:

It's not in his feet, it's in his heart.

But until then, if you have doubts, go watch the playoff game between Tennessee and Baltimore just 7� months ago, and then go ask Ray Lewis how old, slow or used up Eddie George is. Go ahead.

And, if you still have doubts, you too could be very wrong about Eddie George.