"I was like, 'Man, who is calling me?' because it was a private number," Ware, a Troy product, remembered, "and I hear Bill Parcells say, 'How does it feel to be a Dallas Cowboy ?'"

This weekend, hundreds of draftees will feel a rush as they achieve a dream. Others will be disappointed they went lower than expected or not at all.

Here are four more draft-day stories:

Marcus Spears

2005, first round (No. 20 overall), LSU

"I was sitting in my sister's apartment with a lot of family and friends in Baton Rouge. Probably 75 people and there wasn't enough space. People were outside. My uncle was frying fish by the front door, and we were just having a good time. The phone rings, and it's Bill. The first thing he says is, '295,' for my weight. And Jerry says, 'Congratulations, you're a Cowboy.'

"I just remember saying, 'Thank you, Mr. Jones,' and I was trying to get here as fast as I could. My mom was making sure it was all quiet. It was probably like 30 seconds before the announcement came so it was like a delay. My family saw my name and they're going crazy, and my mom's like, 'Ya'll need to settle down. He's on the phone.'"

Miles Austin

2006, undrafted, Monmouth

"After the first day I got a couple of calls from some teams saying that if something doesn't work out they'd like me to sign with them, so that was a good feeling. I was hoping I'd be drafted because you want to see your name going across the screen, but I was OK.

"[Former assistant director of pro scouting] Brian Gaine called me, and then he put Bill on the phone. I don't know if that was their recruiting pitch or not, but I know it worked. He's a Jersey guy, and he was like, 'Hey, you could make this team on special teams. You're not where you want to be as a wideout right now,' but he thought I could grow into it and get better. All I wanted was a chance to be on a roster and show what I can do."

Nick Folk

2007, sixth round (No. 178 overall), Arizona

"I got a call from Tampa Bay at the end of the fifth round right after [Kansas City took Justin Medlock], and they said they had three picks in the seventh round and they were looking at me. My agent was over the house because he lives right around the corner and was like, 'All right, let's get a list going for a bluff deal to see if we can get up a couple of spots.'

"Dallas was on our list before they signed Martin [Gramatica], and they ended up having the next pick. I actually crossed Dallas off the list because it was a minute into their time, so I was thinking, 'They're not picking me,' and the next thing you know I got a call from Jerry. Everyone was quiet at first, but then I ended up going outside because I knew they were going to show it on TV. I think I was on the phone with Wade, and the whole house just kind of went crazy."

Martellus Bennett

2008, second round (No. 61 overall), Texas A&M

"Woke up at 6 a.m. like it was Christmas day. Then you find yourself waiting around all day. My dad and I went to the gun range. Then we came back home, and my mom had cooked. I went to the mall for a few hours, just to kill time. I came back to the house and we had a little intimate party with just family and a few friends.

"After Dustin Keller and the kid from Seattle [Jon Carlson] got drafted, I just went outside and played basketball. I didn't watch no more of the draft. Everybody ran out of the house when I got drafted, jumping up and down.

"Jerry called. My dad answered the phone, and Jerry thought it was me. Once they gave me the phone, Jerry asked me, 'Are you ready to be a Cowboy?' What was I going to say to that? 'No, I thought this would be the Carolina Panthers. Call somebody else.'"

DallasNews.com staff writer Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.