Lacoochee coos for Hambrick

The former Pasco star, now a Cowboy RB, gets a down-home welcome.

Troy Hambrick hasn't played a game this close to home in nearly a decade, dating to his days at Pasco High.

For such a long-awaited homecoming, the Cowboys running back is sparing nothing, buying 50 tickets for today's Bucs game at Raymond James Stadium.

"We're America's Team, so we're always on television," said Hambrick, who said "about half" of his hometown of Lacoochee will be cheering for him from the stands. "But to see me in person, it's been a while for most of them."

Hambrick, 27 on Nov. 6, couldn't have picked a better time to return home. A year ago, he was a backup for a 5-11 Cowboys team that finished last in its division. Today, he comes home as the starter and leading rusher for the Cowboys, now 5-1 and leading the NFC East. They are among the NFL's biggest surprises under new coach Bill Parcells, and the difference in the Dallas locker room from a year ago is striking.

"I see a bunch of young guys committed to winning," said Hambrick, who has rushed for 419 yards and three touchdowns. "There's a little more talking about playing football, less playing dominoes. It was a more selfish group last year, and that was the main thing: guys worried about personal things and not the team."

One personal thing Hambrick had to worry about this fall was his weight. Before the season, Parcells publicly questioned if he wanted Hambrick to be weighing as much as 260 pounds.

"My first interaction with my new coach was about me being too big," said Hambrick, who at 6 feet 1 played at about 255 last year. "He came in and said, "This guy's got to lose some weight to be my back.' (It's) this whole new Parcells era, and I didn't want it to be an issue."

Hambrick, who already faced the difficult task of replacing Emmitt Smith, said he felt like a durable back. He also remembered not having the same energy in the fourth quarter as he did in the first last season, even while playing less as a backup.

"I was just spelling guys, coming in for one or two plays, but by the end of the game, I needed every breath of air I could find," he said.

Today, Hambrick weighs 233 pounds, his lightest since his college days Savannah State. He said he'd like to play at under 230 next season.

A win today against the Bucs would lend a lot of weight to Dallas' surprising start. Hambrick said he didn't grow up a huge Bucs fan but likes what Jon Gruden has done with the team.

He also has a personal liking because of something the coach's father, Jim, a longtime scout for the 49ers, did for Hambrick three years ago. Hambrick met the elder Gruden at the NFL combine workouts, where the scout gave him something few others had offered: hope.

"He told me, "I can't guarantee you'll be drafted, but somebody will call your home phone before that draft is over,"' said Hambrick, who went undrafted in 2000 and signed with Dallas as a free agent. "I had a lot of mischief in college, but I did get a call that day. His dad was right. With all the turmoil I was trying to come up out of, it helped give me a boost of confidence."

Hambrick met Jon Gruden when the Cowboys played the Raiders in a preseason game in Tokyo two years ago, and he told Gruden to pass along his thanks to his father.

Today, he'll play far closer to home, and with a cheering section of his own.

"A win would be big," he said. "We've got a little bit of confidence, because we've been able to get some things done this season. We don't want to get overtaken with the whole thing of this Bucs defense, so it's about what we do, about the balanced attack we have. If we win, I think it'd be big."

Today's lineup
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