Jerry Jones said it. It's been a long time coming.
"We've had this spot, at this time, with Darren Woodson's name on it, for a long time."
There's a good list of candidates -- but Woodson may be the most respected member of the Cowboys 1990s dynasty teams, both on the field and off.
"It don't get no better, man," former Cowboy teammate Nate Newton said. "For all the wildness we were, he was one of the calmest in the locker room. He was one of the guys you could depend on to do the right thing, say the right thing, be the right type of player."
Woodson will be inducted on November 1st, during the Cowboys game against the Seahawks. It's a moment Woodson has been pondering since a 1992 trip to midfield, at Texas Stadium.
"Looking at the rafters, and seeing Bob Lilly and Leroy Jordan and Randy White, and Staubach," Woodson remembers. "These big names. And I always felt like – that's where I want to be."
Woodson is well on his way -- and it's a deserved honor.
Among the final links to Woodson's time in Dallas, among current Cowboys, is Jason Witten. Tuesday, he remembered a story about challenging Woodson, during Witten's rookie season.
"After we got done, I remember him kinda looking at me with his hand like this, and said 'you're gonna get to know the claw, real quick' you know?" Witten said. "So, I learned A) not to talk trash, and B) that he was pretty good."
There were several former teammates on hand, Tuesday, including former Cowboys linebacker Dat Nguyen.
"There's nothing bad you can say about Darren Woodson," Nguyen said. "He's a person that is well respected, throughout the National Football League, the locker room. He's one of those guys that was like a big brother when I first got to the league."
But for Woodson, one of the most crystallized memories was back in 1992, just after he was drafted by the Cowboys. Woodson says Dave Campo -- then the Cowboys defensive backs coach -- told him that he fought for the Cowboys to draft Woodson, making a case to Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones, and the rest of the front office.
"I'm taking a chance on you," Woodson remembers Campo telling him. "He says 'You better not let my a-- down.' And hopefully, if Dave Campo is listening today, Camp – hopefully I didn't let you down."
No two ways about it -- Woodson didn't disappoint anyone.
