FRISCO, Texas -- Growing up in Hamden, Connecticut, Luke Schoonmaker was a New England Patriots fan. His mother, Michelle, grew up outside of Boston, so her son liked the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins.

The Patriots won six Super Bowls, and as Schoonmaker moved from quarterback to tight end later in high school, he saw a lot of Rob Gronkowski.

“I was a big Gronk guy,” he said of the Patriots' legendary tight end.

But once the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the second round of this year's draft, Schoonmaker found himself looking into Jason Witten. He knew of Witten, who was named to 11 Pro Bowls in his 16 years with the Cowboys and became the franchise leader in receptions (1,215) and yards (12,977).

“Just scoured the internet, pretty much,” Schoonmaker said. “Tried to find all that I could.”

A family connection led to him getting Witten’s cellphone number. Before last week’s rookie minicamp, Schoonmaker texted Witten.

“He didn’t have to reach out to me, but obviously I’m pulling for him,” Witten said. “I know it’s a tough transition. He’s got a lot of great resources, that’s what I told him. Get in the back pocket of Dak [Prescott] and Zack [Martin]. Watch them train, watch them study, watch them recover, watch how they lead, what kind of teammates they are, what they do in the weight room, and he’ll be just fine. I know he’s got great guys to follow.”

In 2003, Witten was the Cowboys’ third-round pick. He was an immediate favorite of Bill Parcells, but the coach made him work. Witten mostly watched and listened. By his second season, he caught 87 passes for 980 yards and six touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl.

“The league’s so hard -- and certainly at the tight end position,” said Witten, who is entering his third year as the head coach at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas. “So much is asked of you, and to get any edge, any secret, I think that’s wise to seek that. I think by him doing that, you see how curious he is. And it’s something I told him through text, that if you have that approach, good things are going to happen. Just reminded him to focus on that, be able to take the coaching. Every opportunity, every rep he gets, be critical of yourself when you evaluate it and enjoy the ride. Don’t worry about the destination.”

The Cowboys will not ask Schoonmaker to be Witten, but they do believe he has some of the same traits as Witten, with his ability to block at the end of the line of scrimmage, while also being a difference-maker in the passing game.

“He’s real polished in the run game because of the way he was taught at Michigan -- his strength, his lower-body strength, his ability to fit combinations,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “But you don’t realize how fast the guy is. He’s a legit 4.58 [40-yard dash] guy, and I think there are some things that we’re really excited about that he can bring us from a vertical standpoint of stretching the defense vertically.”

At Michigan, Schoonmaker caught just 54 passes for 637 yards and seven touchdowns in 44 games, but that was mostly due to the offense it ran. However, the Cowboys believe he is pro-ready because of the NFL tight ends whom Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh produced when he was at Stanford, guys like Zach Ertz and Coby Fleener.

“I think I can just expand on what I did [in college], and I’m looking forward to however they’re going to do that with me,” Schoonmaker said.

In 2022, Schoonmaker was a third-team All-Big Ten pick, catching 35 passes for 418 yards and three touchdowns. He had 147 receiving yards on crossing routes, according to ESPN Stats & Information, which was second most among FBS tight ends behind Georgia’s Brock Bowers.

But his blocking is the strong point.

“I think, honestly, a lot inline, being able to run different schemes -- and my footwork too -- and understanding the full picture of things like that, that I feel like I’m only going to continue to learn more details about,” Schoonmaker said. “I mean I’ve been here for a couple days and I’ve already just learned so much more with the footwork and the hand placement and the vision and everything.”

The Cowboys had a need at tight end after Dalton Schultz left via free agency for the Houston Texans. And Prescott likes throwing to tight ends; in the past two seasons, he has the second-most touchdown passes to tight ends (20).

And Schoonmaker is entering a familiar tight end room with Big Ten tight ends everywhere. Former Michigan tight end, Sean McKeon, is a teammate again. Jake Ferguson was a fourth-round pick from Wisconsin last year. Peyton Hendershot made an impact in 2022 as an undrafted free agent from Indiana.

“I think we are pretty loaded with guys that can do so many different things,” Schoonmaker said. “And I’ll just be in there to do whatever’s asked of me and, yeah, be another key role in that room.”

And if he has any questions, Witten is a text message away, although there could be a chance they work together at some point in the spring if their schedules mesh.

“I’ve been watching Witten like all the time, and I think just him as a player, of course, is spectacular. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer,” Schoonmaker said. “But him as a person, as a teammate, he’s such a leader. And I’ve been trying to just research and understand his mindset and how he went about leadership and stuff like that.”