OXNARD, Calif. – Tyler Clutts didn't mean to start an offense vs. defense spat during Saturday's practice, but he felt he was just doing his job as the Dallas Cowboys fullback.

After Joseph Randle was flung to the ground by linebacker Kyle Wilber, Clutts took exception, grabbing Wilber, triggering a no-punching, but lots of clutching and grabbing fight that lasted less than a minute.

"That's what our room's all about -- defending the running backs," Clutts said. "I really love what our defense is doing as far as trying to strip the ball, but we've got to keep our guys protected and that's my only job: to protect the running back. Just ran down there and made sure that he wasn't by himself. I've always got his back."

Clutts joined the Cowboys late in 2013 when the team saw the need for a fullback late in the season after going without a true fullback on the roster. He played in every game last season with one start but did not have a carry in the regular season and caught one pass for 1 yard.

In the playoffs he caught one pass for a 1-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.

When free agency started, the Cowboys signed Jed Collins instead, in part, because they thought Clutts would be out of their price range.

When he was still available in May, the Cowboys re-signed him and released Collins.

"He's a physical guy," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He's a smart guy. He can play on (special) teams. He's shown he can play on some third-down situations as a protector, which is a really important thing with your running backs. Sometimes you want to keep a couple of guys out of that situation as much as you can. Maybe you have an injury and to have a guy like that who can go in and understands protections and kind of get you out of a game, that’s a really significant role."

It's a role Clutts has already had to play this training camp. With Darren McFadden out with a hamstring injury and Lance Dunbar sidelined with a sprained right ankle, the Cowboys needed Clutts to line up at tailback because Lache Seastrunk and Gus Johnson were not familiar enough with the hurry-up offense.

Clutts did not grow up as a running back. He was that rare quarterback/defensive end in high school. He played defensive end at Fresno State (23.5 career sacks) and for two seasons in the Canadian Football League. He did not become a fullback until 2010 with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.

He's still looking for his first regular-season carry as he enters his fifth season in the NFL.

"It’s funny, Coach [Scott] Linehan and I were talking and he asks me, 'When was the last time you were a tailback?' and I said never," Clutts said. "He said, 'When you were a kid did you think you were going to be the tailback for the Dallas Cowboys?' I said, 'Coach, I still don't think I'm a tailback for the Dallas Cowboys.'

"But it's fun and for me it's more important to show that I can do a lot of things for the team and if they get in a really bad situation that they can trust I can get in and do the job."