Cowboys LOOK: 'What a Blessing!' Dallas Rookie Jalen Tolbert Jersey Exchange with Rangers

Dallas wide receiver Jalen Tolbert and Texas outfielder Bubba Thompson went to high school in Alabama.

ARLINGTON - Jalen Tolbert will be the first to tell you that way before he became a football player, he was recognized for his baseball prowess.

And his baseball past met his football present this weekend in Arlington.

Texas Rangers outfielder Bubba Thompson and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Tolbert - a pair of former McGill–Toolen Catholic High School (Alabama) stars who are now playing in big time, exchanged jerseys on Saturday at Globe Life Field.

The pair for pictures on the field, each holding the other’s jerseys, a day after the Cowboys wrapped up the preseason schedule with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Thompson played both football and baseball at McGill-Toolen in Mobile, where he played quarterback and led the team to a 7A state title his senior year. He threw for 3,173 yards and 38 touchdowns that season.

Tolbert was a member of that team and played baseball, basketball, and football for McGill-Toolen.

Their paths diverged after graduation. Thompson had offers to play baseball at both Auburn and Alabama, and offers to play baseball at Tennessee and Ole Miss. But the Rangers drafted Thompson in the first round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Rangers.

Texas called him up to the Rangers on Aug. 4.

Tolbert was considered a two-star football player coming out of high school and ended up at South Alabama, where he played four seasons for the Jaguars. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2020 and 2021. He finished with 171 career receptions, with 3,140 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was the Sun Belt Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year last season.

Rangers rookie outfielder and Cowboys rookie receiver Jalen Tolbert jersey swapped before today’s game

They both attended McGill–Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Alabama, where they played football and baseball together pic.twitter.com/Ndgo9vJ9Qn

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) August 27, 2022

The Cowboys selected him in the third round of the NFL Draft, and are hopeful he soon becomes a front-of-the-rotation receiver as they begin the season with a Week 1 visit on Sept. 11 from Tampa Bay.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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