FRISCO – I watched practice. And the “wild surprise” at the QB spot for the Dallas Cowboys in their open-to-media OTA session last week here inside The Star had nothing to do with Joe Milton.

No, it was starting quarterback Dak Prescott looking pretty much fully healthy as he moved around with the first team that was the eye-catcher.

And then Will Grier worked.

And then Joe Milton – acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots this offseason – did his thing.

And somehow, word has gotten out that Milton’s performance was “wild,” whatever that means.

On my latest Cowboys depth chart, I have Milton as the Cowboys third-string quarterback. Dallas would love to see Milton do enough to force a change.

But it’s a long process.

The former Tennessee Volunteers standout quarterback entered the NFL with promise due to his stature (6-6) and his “Bazooka Joe” arm (he can sling it 85 yards).

Here’s how NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein described Milton as a pro prospect. …

“Rare physical specimen with the proverbial ‘arm talent to make all the NFL throws,’ but he’s prevented from doing so by a lack of timing, accuracy and touch. Milton is gifted with a cannon for a right arm and can throw the ball as hard or as far as you want.

“His fastballs are often inaccurate and difficult to catch for moving targets, and he was wildly inconsistent locating his deep throws. He can elude pressure, extend plays and put jaw-dropping highlights on tape, but he’s never been able to mature his game from splashy to consistent.”

And frankly, to my eye, not much of that has changed in the year he’s been in the NFL as a Patriots sixth-round pick. He threw deep (with a couple overthrows) and defenders got in a way of a few balls.

There was nothing surprising or shocking or “wild” about much of it.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer is saying the right things about where this can go.

“I was excited about Joe before we got him,” Schottenheimer said. “When you go into these deals and you’re talking about making trades, we all reach out to people that you know, people that you trust, people that have been exposed to said player at college, different programs, friends that have been around him.”

That remark is a slapback to the word from New England from one reporter that Milton “is not a good dude.”

And more from “Schotty” …

“From the time he’s been here, the work ethic is incredible. He’s one of the first people in the building. He’s one of the last to leave. The way he’s attacked the playbook and picking it up has been incredible. And it’s been fun for me to watch Dak and Will, but really Dak take a mentorship role with Joe.”

In his final season in college, Milton totaled 2,813 yards passing, 20 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. Oh, and he can run. So the potential is there.

But he’s not a star. And he’s not a threat to Dak. And none of this, contrary to reports, is particularly “wild.”

It’s just a young guy trying to figure out how to meet the lofty demands of being an NFL quarterback.