In a bid to replace Gerald McCoy, Cowboys’ Trysten Hill steps up, shows improvement in training camp
Hill has been working hard in the offseason, and the Cowboys are impressed.
By Calvin Watkins
7:22 PM on Aug 22, 2020
When the Cowboys lost defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to the season with a torn right quadriceps muscle, it meant second-year pro Trysten Hill and rookie Neville Gallimore would get a chance to take over.
Hill has received a good portion of the snaps with rush ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Aldon Smith and fellow defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford.
“Trysten Hill has been doing some really good things,” defensive line coach Jim Tomsula said Saturday. “Just been tickled to death with Trysten and how hard he’s working, mentally and physically, how hard he’s working in the meeting room, the questions, the phone calls, the texts, him swinging back by the office at night.”
Whatever Hill is doing is so much better than last year’s disappointing efforts that saw him in the doghouse of then-defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
Hill worked harder in the offseason to get in better shape, including sticking with his meal plan, and Crawford noted how Hill is more professional.
Gallimore, a third-round pick from Oklahoma, is also receiving reps with some of the established veterans.
“Neville is a strong, explosive, athletic guy, strong and explosive,” Tomsula said. “What does come along with that is, you come into this [practice facility], and, I don’t know if you guys know it, but there’s some pretty good offensive linemen here ... to line up, and there’s things you can get away with your strength, with your explosiveness, in college because you outmatch people, quite frankly.
“That’s a little different. So sometimes there’s a step backwards to get those fundamentals and techniques and things to get adjusted to this game and it’s a great test for him because of the people he has to go against every day.”