COWBOYS NOTEBOOK : No. 1 Pick in the Fold,--and Out on the Field

Kevin Brooks, the Dallas Cowboys’ No. 1 draft pick, said he “felt right at home” after working out for the first time Thursday at the team’s training camp at Cal Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks.

The 6-7, 265-pound defensive end said he signed with the Cowboys on Wednesday evening. He held out for three days before agreeing to a four-year contract with an option by the team to renew for an additional year, according to a team spokesman.

“I’m very happy with the agreement,” Brooks said while walking off the field following the first of two practices Thursday. “I called my mother and girlfriend back home in Detroit with the good news.”

Any thoughts that Brooks would be given special treatment by Dallas Coach Tom Landry quickly disappeared during the morning workout. Landry noticed Brooks move out of his stance before the ball was snapped to begin a sprint. Through a bull horn, the coach drawled, “No. 68 (Brooks), that’ll be one time around the track after practice for moving early.”

Brooks, an All-American at Michigan, said: “Coach Landry reminds me of Bo Schembechler. They’re both no-nonsense.”

Dennis Thurman, a seven-year defensive back out of the USC, was the only Cowboy with more than a year’s experience to report with the rookies.

But don’t expect him to be playing next to a free agent free safety this week.

Thurman, in what he says is “definitely an experiment,” is serving as an assistant coach until the veterans arrive next week.

“Dennis won’t be a player/coach the way Jerry Tubbs, Dan Reeves and myself were,” Landry said. “But he is an intelligent player who relates well to young players. I believe he could be an excellent coach someday.”

Said Thurman: “Coach Landry approached me with the idea last February. How many people are able to give coaching a shot while playing? I saw it as an opportunity to learn the inside aspects of coaching.”

Cowboy veterans will report in two groups, according to Landry. Those who play the so-called skill positions arrive Sunday and linemen and linebackers arrive Thursday.

Although Thurman will resume strictly playing duties when the veterans arrive, he expects to be kidded by his teammates about his coaching the rookies.

“I know I’ll get tagged,” Thurman said with a laugh. “They’ll say, ‘Where’s your whistle, coach?’ But I’m not ready to hang up my playing gear yet.”

The Cowboys are not the primary attraction in one corner of the Cal Lutheran campus. A large sign in front of the basketball gym reads, “Welcome, John Wooden campers . . . and Cowboys.”

The John Wooden Fundamental Basketball Camp is in its 15th year at the college. And the long-time UCLA coach is running it with vigor.

“I enjoy the youngsters as much as I always have,” Wooden said. “We stress two things--basketball fundamentals and consideration for others.”

Does he still teach his famous Pyramid for Success?

“One session is devoted to the pyramid,” he said. “I take the blue group in the morning and the gold group in the afternoon.”

Those familiar UCLA colors.

“Oh, yes,” Wooden said.

In addition to rookies acquired through the draft, 85 free agents are trying out for the Cowboys. Landry said one has stood out so far.

“It’s too early to tell who’s going to make the team,” he said. “But Gary Wilkins has been running over people.”

Wilkins, a fullback, is a converted tight end from Georgia Tech.