Dallas Cowboys center Brock Hoffman was in the thick of a training camp battle this offseason with Cooper Beebe, one which the rookie won, but Hoffman hasn’t stopped his relentless pursuit of grabbing a starting role.

With Beebe out with a concussion for the trip to face the Carolina Panthers, Hoffman got his chance to start and made an impression…and did he.

Since coming into the rotation, Hoffman, who has started four games this season, has become a fan favorite for his “nasty” approach to his work, and not backing down from a challenge.

It has been the way he goes about his business that makes others gravitate towards him, and his play style is starting to rub off on his teammates.

“You like the way he plays,” Schottenheimer said of the unsung O-line hero. “Brock is smart enough, he rarely goes beyond that point of no return but it’s what fuels him and it fuels the other guys, they feed off him. He is the alpha.”

It is a feather in Hoffman’s cap that he can step in and produce in the manner he has, and we go back to training camp where Dak Prescott spoke of how confident he was in either Beebe or Hoffman to be the starting center, and now we are seeing why.

He’s not a Pro Bowler, but Hoffman relishes doing the dirty work and isn’t afraid to get a bit physical on the field. In truth, that is something that has been sorely missing from the Cowboys, and it’s refreshing to see others develop that element in their game.

Hoffman isn’t here to make friends, he’s here to win football games, and it doesn’t matter who is lined up across from him, he’s all gas, no brakes in trying to establish the line of scrimmage for his team.

And he doesn’t do it nicely.