IRVING, Texas » Mana Silva finished last season in Dallas, logging three tackles in two games for the Cowboys after being signed in December. Now the ex-University of Hawaii safety is looking to stick around with the Cowboys.

May 21 marked the start of organized team activities (OTAs) and after an offseason full of conditioning work, it was good to be back on the field.

"It’s good to be playing football again, instead of just the monotony of training and running," Silva said.

The 23-year-old former UH defensive back comes off a season where he went undrafted after a stellar collegiate career, was released by the Ravens in September, and landed on the Bills practice squad in November before the Cowboys signed him in December.

And while such an eventful rookie season would be enough to discourage even the most mentally tough players, Silva views his 2011 experiences differently.

"It was a tough year and it was one of the best years of my life at the same time. It was rough because I was getting released, just a part of the business," he said. "Getting picked up and activated, it was a dream come true."

But no matter whether he was on the practice squad or the active roster, his mentality remained the same.

"It’s a grind every day," he said. "You treat every day the same way as if you’re active or on practice squad. You’ve got to work hard."

One plus associated with coming to Dallas was that late last season, he was teammates with fellow UH product Mat McBriar, a two-time Pro Bowl punter for the Cowboys.

"It’s always good when you know somebody coming into a team, he can relate to what I’m talking about. It was good," Silva said. "Hopefully he gets healthy again and he’ll be back.

"We talked about the UH days. It was just good to talk about the old guys. I just remember watching them as kids."

Another positive of joining the Cowboys was that he has several veteran safeties to learn the trade from, players such as newcomer Brodney Pool and Gerald Sensabaugh.

"They’re high-character guys so you learn from that, just being off the field with them," Silva said. "Secondly, just being able to pick their brains on what they see and what they think, that’s always good."

He and Pool have been teammates for a short time, but after working out together during the offseason, his fellow safety likes what he has seen.

"He’s a guy who works hard. He’s a very smart guy. He’s very athletic. Guys like that, they last a long time in the NFL," Pool said.

The Kamehameha-Hawaii alum is also savoring the experience of playing for such a colorful personality like Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

"We’ve got a term back home, ‘Hawaiian at heart.’ That’s what he calls himself," Silva said. "He’s had some Polynesian players play under him and he enjoys it, just what they bring to the table."

In 2011, Silva served as the backup to Abram Elam at strong safety. Dallas allowed Elam to enter free agency and replaced him with Pool, who came over from the Jets. But even with Sensabaugh and Pool entrenched as Dallas’ starting safeties, Silva has a legitimate chance of making the 53-man roster out of training camp.

But if he is to do so, it might have to be due to how he performs on special teams.

"The main goal is just making the team, contributing on special teams first and just trying to find a role on defense and from there building on that role and just seeing what happens," Silva said. "Where chips fall, they fall."

Steve Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.