FRISCO, Texas — It seems like a perfect match

The Dallas Cowboys have a need for a running back. Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who played his high school football inside Ford Center at The Star when he attended Frisco (Texas) Lone Star High School, is considered the best runner in the class.

On Friday, Jeanty will be at The Star, visiting with the Cowboys, and it is perfectly conceivable that on April 24 the Cowboys would take the running back with the No. 12 overall pick if he’s still available.

Jeanty also represents an advantage the Cowboys have in the draft process over a lot of other NFL teams. That’s because he went to high school in the Dallas metropolitan area, so he can be counted toward the “Dallas Day” total and not as one of the precious 30 national visitors they are allowed before the draft.

“We’re fortunate that we have a lot of really good football players in North Texas that qualify for us,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “I think that’s an advantage when you’re in a hotbed like we are in Texas, especially North Texas, that you got some great football players. Say, the best running back in the draft is right down the street. He may have played [at The Star] before. It is great that we do have a lot of guys that we can have in. It’s been brought up before that some people have advantages when it comes to having their local days.”

The Cowboys will hold their invite-only “Dallas Day” on Friday. Most of the players will be timed and tested, like it’s another type of combine or pro day.

However, Jeanty and other high prospects — such as Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, TCU receivers Savion Williams and Jack Bech, Texas offensive lineman Cameron Williams, Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo and running back Damien Martinez — will count as “Dallas Day” invites but will not work out.

Normally, the Cowboys have anywhere from 40 to 50 “Dallas Day” visitors. This year, the number is pushing 60. In addition to players with the high school ties to the area, the Cowboys can invite every draft-eligible player from SMU, TCU and North Texas.

Contrast that with a team like the Green Bay Packers, who are allowed to meet with players from Wisconsin, Northwestern and Northern Illinois but don’t have the same volume of high school talent in their area.

“It’s always been a little bit of a disadvantage because if you’re Miami, [Los Angeles] or Dallas, where you have a bunch of pro prospects that come from your metropolitan area, and your ability to get basically a free 30 visit out of that,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “It’s a little bit of a disadvantage — not selling anything short of Green Bay and the metropolitan area there but at the same time, I don’t know if it’s that big of a deal.”

Like the national visitors, which began Wednesday night, the top-tier “Dallas Day” visitors will meet with the front office, sometimes including owner and general manager Jerry Jones, the personnel staff, head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the coordinators, and all the way down to the position coaches.

In 2018, however, Texas tackle Connor Williams, who grew up in Coppell, Texas, opted to work out despite his lofty status as a projected early-round pick. The session played a part in the team’s decision to select Williams in the second round.

“It was as good a workout as we’ve ever had on Dallas Day,” former head coach Jason Garrett said after taking Williams. “He was first in line, hustling like you’ve never seen anybody hustle in an environment like that.”

In 2004, the Cowboys used “Dallas Day” visits to get to know Northwest Oklahoma wide receiver Patrick Crayton and Purdue cornerback Jacques Reeves. They ended drafting both players in the seventh round and both eventually became starters. Wide receiver Terrance Williams was a third-round pick in 2013.

In 2022, the Cowboys selected guard Tyler Smith in the first round, but the North Crowley High School grad did not make a visit to The Star because of a conflict. Instead, the Cowboys held a private workout with him at Tulsa.

“It just feels like there are always good players, when we have Dallas Day. It’s a good group of guys,” Stephen Jones said. “Sometimes the top-end guys don’t come. They sure don’t work out. The high-, high-end guys, they visit. They don’t count against your 30s, so that’s a good thing.”

ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky contributed to this story.