Billy Joe DuPree (born March 7, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Michigan State University. Early years DuPree was born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana. He played high school football at Richardson High School in West Monroe, Louisiana. He began playing as a two-way tackle. As a senior, he was switch to tight end on the offense. He contributed to the team reaching the Class 2A State Championship in the 3 years he played, helping the school winn two of them (1966-67 and 1967-68). He also played basketball. College career DuPree played collegiately at Michigan State University. He is recognized as the greatest tight end in Michigan State history, even though he had few opportunities to prove his true worth in the Spartans run-oriented offense. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at tight end. He ranked second on the team with 21 receptions for 402 receiving yards, a 19.1-yard average and 3 receiving touchdowns. As a junior, wide receiver Gordon Bowdell left for the NFL and Dupree took over as the leader of the passing offense. He led the team with 25 catches for 414 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. As a senior, he was one of the team's co-captains and started all 11 games. Although the Spartans ran the Wishbone T offense and he was required to focus mainly on blocking, in a team that only completed a total of 44 passes, his 23 catches for 406 yards were enough to get him noticed for All-American honors. He didn't record any touchdowns during the season. DuPree was the last tight end to lead Michigan State University in receiving, doing it in each of his last 2 seasons. He finished his collegiate career with 69 receptions (third in school history, 1,222 receiving yards, a 17.7-yard average and 6 receiving touchdowns. He also played basketball for a season, before deciding to focus on football. Professional career DuPree was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round (20th overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he became an immediate starter, which at the time was almost unheard-of in a Tom Landry coached team. He also had to take over for the recently retired and future hall of famer Mike Ditka, who gave him his jersey