Dan Quinn talks Parsons, Cowboys’ front 7 through first phase of training camp

"From the linebacker standpoint for Jaylon and Leighton both, I felt their intensity from the offseason about what they wanted to improve upon. I see that carrying over into their work. They're both very intentional about what they want to get better at. I've definitely seen that come on the field."

"I've been really impressed by him. It's not just the speed. It's the technique that he's using, trusting where he's at, what to do. I knew in the offseason that he was going to work hard on his tackling."

"One things that has jumped out to me is I feel like his stride extension has improved. I feel every bit of his speed. There has been a couple of plays where he was flying. He is working extremely hard and he is closing. Vroom. You feel that speed. That is one of things that I have seen. We are blitzing him more. I think he is a physical player. He has always had a run and hit factor to him. That is something I looking forward to seeing come to light for him."

"No paring back. It’s challenging on all rookies, not just Micah but the first wrap through. That’s why we’re almost near the end of our package and the responsibility for me and the staff is to make sure even that gets pared down some. We’re moving into the next few weeks and by the time the next few weeks come, it gets a little sharper, a little more in focus and a little clearer which things we can do really, really well. As coaches you have a pretty big umbrella you start with when you do the install. You may need this for a contingency plan. You may need this at the end of the game. You may need this. Some of them are one-offs, but it’s still volume for the install. For the things you have every single week, more reps, more reps, more reps. That allows you to play fast and fast and fast, again and again and again. It’s part of the process, going through it."

"I’m proud of the work [Neal's] put in. He’s very intentional about his improvement, about his technique, and he’s off to an excellent start at linebacker. He’s played a number of the positions when he was in Atlanta. We just tricked him and didn’t call him a linebacker. “Nah, you’re a safety.” But he was playing linebacker then. I never told him he was a linebacker, but he was a linebacker, you know? The “just likes” help with him “Hey, this is just like a call that you had” or “This is something that you’ve built on from before.” He’s been off to an excellent start with that. Just not playing the deep half of the field, which he did some, but he played down in the box quite a bit, so it’s not so foreign for him."

“We’ve talked about in the past, the guy that takes the jump from Year 1 to Year 2. Everybody that has covered football for a long time, that happens. Some are bigger than others. Some are two to three. But this is the trajectory that you want a player to go to, and that’s what I’m seeing from him. He’s lighter than he had been. That was by design by us. But I feel his strength, I feel his get-off, I feel his up-field movements, so he’s off to a good start. I would say he’s one of the players you see ready to take the step, ready to take the jump. He’s really putting out effort to do that.”

"He [Basham] has impacted us for sure. When you have people who are uplifting, who can bring that, it rubs off to others, there’s no question about it. What I’ve seen so far from him is versatility. I could see him having a role where he plays on third down both at end and tackle. On first and second down we see him as a D-End. He’s going to have a special teams role. Sometimes the role players that make up a team have critical roles to help play winning football and I think Basham is a clear example of a player who can play winning football and add to the team. We’re excited about what he’s brought so far. He’s a very versatile guy. He really is."

"I think as a young [player], anytime you miss there is going to be an impact. The good news side of him is this is a really a bright guy who, through the practices in the spring, we did play him at a number of different positions. I would say mentally, from the playbook, he’s in good shape. But the thing that all young players need is reps and time and experience. When it’s ready, we’ll get him back and work him into that. I was very encouraged about where he had stopped in the spring. So not to have him for awhile is a bummer, but I do know he is coming back, so that’s a good thing. When he does, we’ll make sure we get him in there every step of the way. Mentally, he’s good, but there’s nothing like playing."