DB coach Kris Richard brought the fire, while the Cowboys’ defense iced Dak Prescott

If anyone is wondering about who is going to bring the passion and intensity to Dallas Cowboys training camp, look no further than secondary coach/passing game coordinator Kris Richard.

No one stood out more at practice Tuesday as Richard got started following a brief skirmish between receiver Lance Lenoir and cornerback Jourdan Lewis in one-on-one drills.

Lewis and Lenoir have been going at it throughout camp.

Receivers coach Sanjay Lal tried to put the two on the field together on the final rep of the drills, prompting Richard to scream, “he don’t run our drills.”

He talked trash through the compete drill when the defense won two of the three matchups, highlighted by cornerback Chido Awuzie forcing an incompletion to receiver Allen Hurns and safety Xavier Woods breaking up a pass to tight end Geoff Swaim.

And when linebacker Justin March-Lillard intercepted a pass in seven-on-seven, Richard ran the length of the field with him to the end zone as they ran through the pass rush drill between the offensive line and the defensive line.

He yelled, “(expletive) their drill!”

“We are all part of it,” a still intense Richard said after practice when asked about his passion. “It’s our team. How can we ask them to go some place we are not willing to go ourselves? I want to come out, do my best, give them my best so we can work to be our best on the football field.”

Here are four other things from Tuesday’s practice:

2. Quarterback Dak Prescott and the offense did not have a good day. He completed 6 of 13 passes in team and 7-on-7 drills on a day that started off with a beautifully completed deep ball to Tavon Austin against Duke Thomas in one-on-one. Practice ended for the first team on a down note when Prescott finished 1-of-3 finished on a game situation drill that was concluded by an incompletion to Cole Beasley on third-and-2, thanks to solid defense from cornerback Chido Awuzie.

3. The flip side to the rough day by the pass offense was the stellar play on defense, especially by Awuzie and Byron Jones. Many of the completions on offense were underneath that were quickly covered up by the linebackers. “We want to make it as hard out here as possible for our confidence and their confidence,” Richard said. “Iron sharpens iron. So the better we are, the better they are. The better they are the better we will become.”

4. Consider receiver Tavon Austin as a highlight on offense. When he was acquired by the Cowboys in a trade with the Rams he was described as a web back, a combination between a running back and a receiver. While Austin may get some carries on the end around, he has been strictly a receiver in training camp and getting a lot of reps with the first team. He was very busy on Tuesday, hauling in two receptions from Cooper Rush to spark the second team offense to a field goal drive. Lal is also impressed with Austin’s leadership. He has been the spark plug of the group in how he practices, even in walk-throughs, and with the passion he brings. Lal called it a pleasant surprise.

5. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence participated in team drills and pass rush drills for the first time in camp. The Cowboys have been deliberate about his reps to keep him as healthy as possible. Lawrence showed little rust in his game. He easily beat right tackle La’el Collins in the pass rush drills. Lawrence is working on adding moves to his game because he expects more attention after his breakout season with 14.5 sacks last year.

This story was originally published July 31, 2018 at 9:58 PM.