OXNARD, Calif. — During joint practices with the Los Angeles Rams this month, Dallas Cowboys players kept a visible emphasis on conditioning, lining up for 20-yard sprints after practice as Rams players headed for the locker room, according to ESPN. The scene on Aug. 11 followed a similar request from the roster on Aug. 9, when players asked to run sprints on Family Day.
Quarterback Dak Prescott said players initiated the extra work. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, if ya’ll want to run. … I know we got it in us over here,'” Prescott said, followed by, “Yeah, just like a normal practice. Let’s go get a run in, get better,” according to ESPN. Coach Brian Schottenheimer praised the group, saying, “We got the right guys,” and added that the leadership of the team are among the club’s best players.
Schottenheimer formed an 11-player leadership council in his second year with the team, with members named by him and his coordinators, according to ESPN. The council includes Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, Tyler Booker, Jake Ferguson, Javonte Williams, Bryan Anger, Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary and Jalen Thompson. The group meets about every two weeks, maintains subsets of players to gauge the locker room and provides ideas, feedback and suggestions to the coaching staff.
Prescott has served as the team’s de facto leader since his arrival in 2016 but said his role on the council was deliberately balanced. “That was purposeful. I couldn’t be the, whatever you want to call it, the chief leader in there because I’m going to speak up. I’m going to talk,” Prescott said. “I know what I know, and I’m not going to be hesitant to say it, but we need other guys to take that lead. And Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary and Tyler Smith have been those guys to step up and they’re doing a hell of a job,” according to ESPN. Kenny Clark, acquired a week before the 2025 season in the Micah Parsons trade, was described as leading more by doing than talking.
Schottenheimer told players in the offseason he wanted the team to be the best conditioned in the league, and the players’ willingness to continue sprint work when not required was cited as evidence of a collective work ethic, according to ESPN. “At the end of the day, it’s their council,” Schottenheimer said.
