In Cowboy Stadium stands a boxer, though his story seldom told. Until now.

Senior receiver Jereon McGilvery is the type of player who spent most of his career only getting noticed by the most attentive observers. Special teams was his specialty, from setting blocks for returners to blocking punts.

But thanks to a mix of experience, injuries and plain-old hard work, McGilvery is becoming a focal point of the offense in his final year. His 179 receiving yards tie him with Ernest Celestie for the team lead, and with Celestie likely to sit out Saturday’s game at Incarnate Word, McGilvery could find himself all alone in that category this time next week.

“It’s time,” McGilvery said. “I’ve been working as hard as I could trying to get better year-by-year. I started seeing slow steps in the right direction. And this year I’m glad it’s starting to look up for me.”

McGilvery’s 13 catches surpassed his junior total of 11, and is creeping toward his three-year total of 18 going into the season.

“I knew going into my final season I was going to make more plays than I have in the past,” McGilvery said. “Then with Wes (Briscoe) going down I knew I was going to have to step up even more.”

Briscoe’s injury set the table for McGilvery to be a bigger part of the offense, and Kent Shelby’s season-ending injury in Week 3 essentially forced him into the role.

It’s not that McGilvery hasn’t been valuable to the Cowboys throughout his career. It’s just that most of it has been provided by him doing the dirty work as a special teamer.

“Jereon’s the kind of kid whose work ethic has always been great, and that’s the thing that’s kind of carried him,” said Cowboys head coach Matt Viator. “He’s one of those guys who asks to be on every special team. If you have him on two, he wants to be on three. If you have him on three, he wants to be on four. He’s always had a good skill set, but he’s really worked hard to improve that.”

Viator said McGilvery, along with Deltoine Scott, is the best on the team at the art of blocking punts.

“He’s always been a real high-energy kid,” Viator said. “He and Deltoine are the best at blocking punts, so we decided to take him off the front line of kickoff returns. He immediately said, ‘Coach, why are you doing that?’”

McGilvery knew that skill alone was not going to earn him a place in the starting lineup, so he set about earning that role.

“I think it showed them I would do anything to get on the field, even if it wasn’t at wideout,” McGilvery said. “I’ll do whatever I can to contribute to the team and special teams was where they needed me. So I was more than willing to play that.”

McGilvery’s work ethic shouldn’t be a surprise given his athletic background. He was a Golden Gloves boxing champion in his days at Lafayette’s Northside High, where taking a break would mean ending up with his back on the canvas.

“Boxing brought out that mentality that you work harder than the next man, or you’re going to lose,” McGilvery said. “It’s plain and simple.”

The physical toll of boxing also makes the speed and violence of hits on special teams easier to handle — sometimes.

“The pads, sometimes they help, sometimes they don’t,” McGilvery said. “Sometimes you still feel the blows from somebody running full speed on special teams, or if you’re trying to make a play on an interception return and get blindsided.”

McGilvery has a playful attitude to go along with his pugilistic dedication that makes him as popular among teammates as he is with the coaching staff.

“He’s a great leader as far as leading those receivers,” said quarterback Daniel Sams. “He’s what you want in a senior receiver.”

“He can get on your nerves sometimes off the field,” Sams said with a grin.

As if on cue, McGilvery punctuated that statement by appearing out of nowhere, driving a golf cart through McNeese’s practice fields as Sams was being interviewed.

“As far as a receiver you want to lead your guys,” Sams continued, “I’ll take Jereon every day.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman