News And Notes From Day 2 Of Cowboys' Rookie Minicamp

The second day of the Dallas Cowboys rookie mincamp is in the books. There was action on the practice field, and a few other things came out as well.

In the latter category, new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin made a point of shooting down any idea that the Cowboys' organization is in any sort of disarray.

"Everybody is on the same page," Kiffin said after the Friday morning session of rookie minicamp. "You may hear this or hear that or whatever, I just know that I was impressed ever since I've been here with the way we handle our meetings, starting with ownership and Jason and the whole bit.

"It's been awesome. I don't make stuff up."

A little editorial comment here: I don't know for sure that Kiffin is going to have the kind of success at Dallas that he had before, but personally, I just love this guy. Maybe the team should only hire coaches of retirement age.

Speaking of new coaches with a few years behind them, Rod Marinelli, new defensive line coach and long-time trusty sidekick to Kiffin, has brought in a new attitude about the role of the front four, including changing the name on their meeting room to "Rushmen". There were multiple tweets about this and at least one article.

Quick, everyone who remembers seeing this mentioned here at BTB weeks ago, raise your hand.

One player at the minicamp who was with the team last year, but is eligible because he was out for last year's minicamp, is G Ronald Leary. A lot of people are hoping he will challenge for a spot this year, and it looks like he is off to a good start. Jason Garrett, in his typically understated style, had some nice things to say about him.

"He actually flashed a little bit at us this morning," Garrett said Friday after the first practice of the weekend. "He has an unfair advantage, like some of the veteran guys who have been around. He knows the system. He's been with us for a year. The play calls are very natural to him. He understands fronts and all of that stuff. So he's going to play faster."

A few things came out of the Twitter feeds. Terrance Williams was outshone a bit by some of the other wide receivers, but seemed to be doing better as the camp progressed. And after practice was over, he spent some extra time working with the jug machine - and Garrett was spotted watching him, no doubt marking that down on his RKG scorecard.

Coming into camp, UDFA Brandon Magee generated a lot of buzz, but it sounds like Taylor Reed, AKA Tank, had a better showing. Look for both to go to Oxnard.

Bowling Green cornerback Adrien Spencer is trying to earn a spot for camp. He has one Dallas player who is working out with him and really pulling for the longshot to come through - his big brother, DE Anthony Spencer.

One player who wound up having a rather hectic camp is QB Aaron Corp. He was signed by the team, but then they told him they had to release him because they were over the 90 player limit. But they still wanted him to try and make the roster, since they are planning on having four quarterbacks for camp and only have two other candidates to join Tony Romo and Kyle Orton. So after clearing waivers, Corp was back on the field for the second session on Friday.

During the second day of minicamp, Kiffin was seen spending some one-on-one time with cornerback B.W. Webb. Based on remarks in the Twitter feed, it seemed to pay off, with some nice plays late in the sessions.

There is a lot of anticipation over the two tight end set, and the rookies were working on the formation.

Brian Broaddus put up his impressions of day 2. A few highlights:

• Webb got a lot of time in the slot cornerback position - and looked very good there.
• Ikponmwosa Igbinosun, or "Ike" for those who have to take a break after typing his name, is being used primarily at DE, and also looked good.
• DeVonte Holloman got a look as the Mike linebacker, and was better in coverage than expected.
• Travis Frederick's biggest issue was handling defensive tackles who lined up in the gap and charged hard. He likes to play close to his man, and needs to learn how to extend to keep this kind of rush off of the quarterback.

Finally, the staff at the mothership picked their standouts from the camp. Among the draftees, Webb got the most favorable reviews. Safety Jakar Hamilton was similarly the most noticed of the UDFA crop, and from the tryout players, there was no one who stood out for more than one writer, but a couple of players who were only with the team for the second day, running back Dominique Whaley and wide receiver Antoine Hicks, both got noticed by one of the staff writers.

Hope this whets your appetite for some Cowboys football. Now we look forward to the OTAs.

More reading:

News And Notes From Day 1 Of Cowboys' Rookie Minicamp

First Impressions From Cowboys Minicamp: What The Rookies Had To Say

Dallas Cowboys Injury Updates And Roster Moves