A year ago, Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Isaac Alarcon was convinced his football career was over.
The aftermath of surgery to remove a benign lower back cyst had left the Monterrey Tech product 6 feet 6 inches and 320 pounds lighter due to the changes to his diet. He couldn’t practice for more than two months. When he returned he found himself constantly being knocked down like a bowling pin. It wasn’t ideal, given that he knew the NFL scouts were watching.
“I thought I lost everything,” Alarcon said in Spanish before showing up to the Cowboys camp in Frisco, Texas on July 21. “I didn’t feel strong or nimble. How was I going to recover?”
He did so by returning little by little in the months that followed. If the coaches asked him to run 20 meters, he would do 30. The same mindset applied in the weight room. The hard work paid off when Tech Wild sheep (Wild Rams) were crowned National Collegiate Champions of Mexico last November, with Alarcon taking top honors at all conferences.
Impressed with Alarcon’s recovery, scouts invited him to the NFL’s International Player Pathway program in Florida. Launched in 2017 with the goal of showcasing players from outside of the United States and Canada, the IPP has produced players such as Carolina Panthers defensive end Efe Obada, born in Nigeria and raised in England; Philadelphia Eagles take on Jordan Mailata of Australia; and New England Patriots fullback Jakob Johnson of Germany.
“We want the best athletes in the world to play here, no matter where they’re from,” said Damani Leech, director of operations for NFL International. “Mexico [has] some of the most mature football programs compared to other parts of the world. “
At IPP, Alarcon captivated scouts and landed on the practice squad for his favorite NFL team. This was just the final chapter in Alarcon’s rapid and unlikely ascent through the sport.
Alarcon, 22, is from Monterrey, Mexico, a city long obsessed with baseball and football, in part because of its proximity to Texas. In 1996, the city hosted Mexico’s only NFL game outside of Mexico City, a 32-6 preseason victory for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Cowboys. That same year, Monterrey became the setting for an MLB regular-season game played outside the United States and Canada, when a sold-out crowd of 23,699 watched the San Diego Padres defeat. New York Mets 15-10.
It was football that gripped Isaac and his two brothers, Israel and Abraham, in large part because of their father, Juan Francisco Alarcon. Elder Alarcon played it safe at another university in Monterrey, UANL, while studying to be a radiologist.
On the pitch, Isaac got off to a relatively late start.
“I didn’t start playing when I was 14,” he said. “I was too big when I was a kid, so they never let me play youth football before that.”
Alarcon cadre certainly screams lineman, although he resisted as soon as he arrived at Monterrey Tech. He was drafted as a tight end, but his coaches convinced him to change positions or risk being kicked out of the squad.
“I didn’t want to be on the offensive line,” Alarcon said. “I thought these guys were all fat, all they did was eat and then struggle a bit with each play and fall.”
Alarcon’s perception shifted soon after as a freshman left tackle after meeting Rolando Cantu, the former Monterrey Tech guard who played a game for the Arizona Cardinals 15 years ago. years.
Cantu’s path to the NFL was unconventional and almost over before it began. On his way to a decisive NFL Europe try at UANL, Cantu attempted to overtake a tractor-trailer while on the highway. The Volkswagen Jetta he was driving ended up going under the truck and veering towards the median. The vehicle was totaled, but the three passengers escaped unharmed.
After this fear, Cantu gave it a try and began the journey to a short but meaningful career in the NFL. He then made a stint with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe, then signed with the Cardinals and worked his way to a special teams appearance in the final game of the 2005 season, a 17-13 loss. against the Indianapolis Colts.
Now a color commentator for the Cardinals’ Spanish-language radio shows, Cantu is considered a pioneer in Mexico: a non-kicker who bypassed the college football system by making his way to the NFL. It was only one game, but it was enough to motivate Mexican players like Alarcon looking to follow Cantu’s lead.
“Isaac has the size, the ability and the dedication to do something big in Dallas,” Cantu said. “He’s very disciplined and has all the qualities you need to be great.”
Cantu pointed to Alarcon’s run blocking, general footwork and mental toughness as factors impressing the scouts. His size is on par with standard NFL linemen, although a screening report highlighted the need for Alarcon to play lower, in order to improve his influence and prevent defenders from putting their hands or their helmet on his chest.
Alarcon’s natural gifts and eventual acceptance of the position allowed him to progress rapidly, and his desire to improve himself motivated him to closely observe the game’s top offensive linemen for clues of. development.
Time and time again, his research has led him to the trenches of the American team.
Cowboys All-Pro offensive linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin quickly became role models. Alarcon has become a fan of not just the two players, but the team itself. At Tech, he wore Smith and Martin jerseys to class and made a ritual of watching every game, mimicking their movements and footwork.
“Tyron is so fast, his hands are still in a good position,” said Alarcon. “The first thing I’ll do after I introduce myself is say, ‘Teach me, please.’
Assuming the 2020 NFL season goes as planned, Alarcon will have the chance to seek mentorship from one of the league’s top offensive linemen. Last season, the Cowboys allowed the NFL’s second fewest sacks and placed fifth in rushing yards.
The coronavirus pandemic has already prompted the NFL and the players’ union to drop the preseason, removing vital representatives for any young player seeking a place on the 53-player roster. Still, the chance to see Alarcon with a Cowboys star on his helmet will be enough to grab the attention of millions of football fans in Mexico. Along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and most recently the Patriots, the Cowboys have always been among the most followed NFL teams in the country.
To this day, the 1994 pre-season contest between the Cowboys and the Houston Oilers in Mexico City remains the busiest game in the NFL across the board, with 112,376 fans crammed into Estadio Azteca to witness a victory. 6-0 for the Oilers.
After the Cowboys announced the signing of Alarcon in April, his social media increased tenfold in one day.
“It just shows you the level of excitement there is for a Mexican born player in the NFL,” Leech said.
“Isaac has all the attributes to be an impact player in the NFL. I want to be clear about that.”
Former NFL player Rolando Cantu of Mexico on Isaac Alarcon
Mexico remains a central player in the league’s international growth efforts. Mexico City and London are the only cities to have hosted NFL International Series games, although the Buffalo Bills played regular season home games at Rogers Center in Toronto from 2008 to 2013. Having Alarcon play for the Cowboys would appear then. a fortuitous opportunity to stay locked up. with the Mexican market. Cantu, however, insists that any suggestion that this is a symbolic signature is a long way off.
“It’s the Dallas Cowboys; they don’t need him to sell jerseys,” Cantu said. “Isaac has all the attributes to be an impact player in the NFL. I want to be clear about that.”
With the notable exception of Guadalajara-born Tom Fears, the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970, Mexican players with distinguished terms in the NFL have almost all been kickers. Efren Herrera and longtime ESPN Deportes NFL analyst Raul Allegre have won rings with the Cowboys (Super Bowl XII) and New York Giants (XXI), respectively, and the Zendejas family of kickers (brothers Luis, Max and Joaquin, and their cousin Tony) left their NFL imprint in the 1980s.
That Alarcon ultimately makes the squad – because he’s an IPP product, the Cowboys can wear him to a designated international spot if he’s not on the full practice squad or final roster – the NFL is hoping its time in the spotlight creates opportunities. for others in Mexico.
“We have had, for a number of years, a really strong side football program in Mexico,” said Leech. “This means growth for children and adolescents who play competitively. The challenge for us is to be a better partner for the college football system.”
Ideally, schools like Monterrey Tech, widely regarded as one of Mexico’s elite college programs, will continue to recruit players like Alarcon who could potentially move up to the IPP or be selected into the NFL Draft. (Rugby player Mailata became the IPP’s first draft pick when he was selected in the seventh round in 2018.) Leech said he spent time last year paving lanes communication between the league and schools in Mexico to facilitate the screening of more upcoming players. years.
For now, Alarcon’s goal as a young offensive lineman to break into one of the NFL’s most stacked depth tables is a tall order. But that’s no less of a challenge in his mind than the seemingly impossible challenges he’s already conquered on his way to Dallas. Alarcon remains unfazed despite a late start, a change of job at the university and a recovery from surgery that left him depressed as the scouts began to look in his direction. The dream has been so close to being ripped off many times, he is now at peace knowing that it could end at any time.
“A year ago, I thought I wouldn’t play anymore,” he said. “It’s just me who’s being honest. Today I can play for my favorite team.
“Now the only thing I can’t wait for is I want to go out there and hit someone.”
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