EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFRISCO, Texas -- After 28 days away from home, the Dallas Cowboys are back in Texas.A lot happened in the 13 practices in California, including two joint workouts against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, and two preseason games at the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.The Cowboys will hold two practices this week inside Ford Center at The Star before closing the preseason against the Saints on Friday at AT&T Stadium (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN Unlimited). Before you know it, the Sept. 13 opener against the New York Giants will be here.But before we talk about Giants coach John Harbaugh, quarterback Jaxson Dart, linebacker Abdul Carter and wide receiver Malik Nabers, let's look at some picked-up pieces from the Cowboys' time in Oxnard.Trackman DakDak Prescott has gotten into golf in a major way the past couple of years, but he has not used Trackman, a device that uses radar and cameras, to measure his swing. He does, however, use it on the football field.A staffer aligns the device behind the offensive huddle so Trackman can document and digest all of the readings from a Prescott pass. It can tell the velocity on throws to his left versus throws to his right, and whether one is stronger than the other."I can go look back and see the velocity on certain balls. I can see the apex," Prescott said. "Something that truly interests me is they're trying to get a lot of go-ball throws or post throws or big plays thrown. You want to put air on it, but you also want to make sure you don't underthrow the guy, and just having that data to go back to and look at my apex."There's a certain apex that I want to accomplish on certain passes. And when they're off, I can go back and I can look. And if it's not, I can easily say that's me versus the receiver's not running or doing this."Answering the callNo player was under more scrutiny when training camp started than left tackle Tyler Guyton.He held the key to the offense. If he performed well, the Cowboys could keep Tyler Smith at left guard, his preferred position. What was supposed to be a competition between Guyton and Nate Thomas never really materialized in part because Thomas had an inconsistent camp but also because of how well Guyton played.Guyton has been dealing with a right elbow issue that has knocked him out for a few plays here and there, and the proof of his growth will come when the games start for real.Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams does not want to jinx things."I'm happy to be to the point that we're at in training camp and him being able to put practices back to back," Adams said. "They all haven't been perfect, but they haven't been for any of our guys."Trying to find consistency and confidence in his play has been kind of a special journey watching him, because I'm proud of the work that he's put in and the mental toughness that he's developed and some of the maturity. The maturation process that he's gone through is off the charts."Good first impressionOn defense, it's hard not to say first-round safety Caleb Downs has made the best first impression."He has a streak on the field," defensive coordinator Christian Parker said. "Obviously, you don't know that until you're in those competitive environments with somebody, but he definitely has a fire to him and an edge."On offense, the answer is a little different because everybody who excelled in 2025 is back in 2026. Undrafted rookie receiver Camden Brown, however, is the answer.Brown made plays in Oxnard and then scored two highlight-level touchdowns in the preseason opener against the Seahawks."When the ball is in the air, it's mine," Brown said. "That's always been the mindset from Georgia Southern to Auburn. Just having that mentality because I feel like just playing football in general is having the right mentality."Future callingWhen his playing career ends, Von Miller wants to continue with football.He is about to enter his 16th season in the NFL. He played for the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders before joining the Cowboys. He has had hundreds of teammates and watched thousands of hours of film, if not more."I feel like the things that I've learned over time is how to build great teams," Miller said.He remembers seeing linebacker James Houston, now a teammate in Dallas, have a two-sack game for the Detroit Lions in his NFL debut against Buffalo while Miller was playing for the Bills."I'm a fan of football in general. My dream is to be a GM, front office exec, director of player personnel," Miller said. "When you have that dream, you've got to love football and you've got to love the players that make it happen. So even though some of these guys haven't been my teammates, I know a little bit about everybody."What do coaches dream of?As offensive coordinator, there are lots of things that go through the mind of Adams, such as hot dogs.Miked up for a practice by the Cowboys' social media team, Adams joked that a coach would have to pay a $100 fine for the "hot dog fridge" for not telling other coaches he was miked up.So what is the "hot dog fridge?""Well, it's something that I'm working on here, kind of in the back of my mind, is how can you really have a break room or a snack room if you don't have a hot dog fridge?" Adams said. "And if you're going to have a hot dog fridge, you've got to have high quality hot dogs in it. And if you're going to have high quality hot dogs in it, we've got to have brioche buns and maybe some pretzel buns."So these are all things that we're working on. Maybe an industrial size 7-Eleven hot dog roller, I don't know. I don't know. But these are just things that roll around in the back of my mind."Adams said he had a hot dog epiphany when he visited Disneyland with his kids."I was trying to steam the bun, I was trying to toast the bun, and the guy at Disneyland goes, 'No, man, put it in the bun and wrap it in foil and let the hot dog steam the bun.' It's been revolutionary."Family dayPlayers' families have long been training camp visitors, but in recent years, the Cowboys have started a family day in which all 91 players invite their spouses, partners, children, parents and siblings to camp for a special day.After practice, the entire group goes to a nearby beach to enjoy each other's company away from football. Bludso's BBQ caters the food. There's music and games, like cornhole, as everybody mingles for a couple hours.It's an important part of camp to Schottenheimer."You can't preach brotherhood and family in your building with your team and not include the ones that you love that are not in the building," Schottenheimer said. "It's something that my wife, Gemmi, and I, we always said when we get our shot to do it, we were going to make sure the families were loved, the families were a part of it."We work crazy hours. We all leave at some point, but we want the people that are outside of our four walls of The Star to feel very much a part of it."
