Clarence Hill: Cowboys camp insights, Prescott likely won’t play in preseason, kicker woes

Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill offers insights from first two weeks of training camp:

1. Look for quarterback Dak Prescott to sit out the preseason for the third straight year. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said it’s not likely that Prescott plays in any of the three preseason games starting Saturday at AT&T Stadium vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. A final decision has yet to be made but McCarthy said he wouldn’t bet on Prescott playing in the preseason.

McCarthy said the Cowboys will get their season prep work in during some highly competitive practices over the next couple of weeks.

2. Practices have been so competitive at times already that McCarthy has repeatedly warned pass rusher Micah Parsons to stay away from Prescott on would-be sacks. McCarthy called Parsons “the No. 1 violator” of getting too close to the quarterback.

Parsons doesn’t seem to worried.

“Did I get a warning? Yeah, I get warnings every day,” Parsons said. “You know I always be wanting to push toward that line.”

3. In addition to terrorizing Prescott, Parsons has found time to take rookie linebacker DeMarvion Overshown under his wings. The third-round pick from Texas has drawn rave reviews from the coaches since the start of training camp. But it wasn’t until a two-interception day on Saturday did he finally impress Parsons.

“I’m like man, just let it go. You see a flash. You see him shoot a gap. I’m like bro, ‘just let it go all the time. Stop thinking, just play your game’,” Parsons said. “One thing I did, I was just really good at one thing.

“I was like I can get better at other things. I was a really good blitzer and really good at pass rush,” Parson said. “So you know what I did? I made sure every time they dialed up blitz, every time they did that, I was really good at that. I made sure I was dominant in that area ... the coverage and all that other stuff.”

He said he told Overshown, “‘Bro, you need to show them that you’re really good at some thing.’ And (Saturday) I was like, ‘Bro, that’s how you show that you have a frickin’ playmaker. That’s the standard. That’s how you do it. That’s how you ball out’.”

4. The Cowboys still have a kicker problem, question, conundrum. Neither Brandon Aubrey or Tristan Viscaino have impressed in practice so far. Both had horrible days on Saturday and drew boos from the fans at training camp.

The Cowboys plan to remain patient. But remember, the team had two kickers compete last year in the preseason and neither made it to the regular season. The Cowboys signed Brett Maher, who won a camp kicker tryout, only to see him cap a strong regular season with the yips in January.

Veteran kickers Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould are still available in free agency.

5. Is it time to start worrying about second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker’s ability to contribute as a rookie. Schoonmaker has been sidelined since the start of camp with plantar fasciitis. He is on the non-football injury list because he suffered the injury working out before being drafted by the Cowboys. McCarthy said Schoonmaker had a setback in his rehab but is hopeful of him in practicing this week.

The Cowboys are satisfied with veteran tight ends Jake Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot and Sean McKeon. Rookie John Stephens, a converted college receiver, has flashed as well. The Cowboys trust coach Lunda Wells to get the most out of the bunch. But Schoonmaker was picked in the second round because of his all-round package as a blocker and receiver. None of the others have his complete package. The question is when is he going to be able to show it.