Gerald McCoy’s unexpected season-ending injury that led to his release was a pretty significant blow to the Dallas Cowboys plans a defensive tackle. They are left with very little experience and must now rely on some of their younger DTs to play more of a significant role. Surprisingly enough, new DL Coach Jim Tomsula doesn’t seem that concerned.
After losing Gerald McCoy, the next man up theory comes into play for the Dallas Cowboys at the three-technique. That means second-year DT Trysten Hill and a rookie Neville Gallimore may need to be leaned on more than the Cowboys had planned, but that’s just the way things go sometimes in the NFL.
Injuries are bound to happen, even to experienced Pro Bowl caliber players like Gerald McCoy. That’s why depth is so important throughout the roster, because you never know when an unexpected injury might pop up. Sadly, that’s where the Dallas Cowboys find themselves right now.
There is good news however. Jim Tomsula sounds as if he’s pretty excited about both Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore. In fact, he actually spoke pretty highly of them when addressing the media right here recently.
On second-year DT Trysten Hill:
“Trysten Hill has been doing some really good things. I’ve been tickled to death with Trysten and how hard he’s working, mentally and physically…the questions, phone calls, texts, swinging by the office at night. Really excited for that guy.”
On rookie DT Neville Gallimore:
“Strong and explosive. Conscientious approach. As a young player, he’s learning NFL-level technique. Tough to overpower NFL OL. Sometimes, it’s a step backward to get those fundamentals and techniques.”
It’s really encouraging to hear both Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore receive some praise from their position coach. Jim Tomsula isn’t known as a coach to handout unwarranted complements, so I for one am going to take him at his word. It’s not much, however, if you read between the lines you can tell Tomsula likes what he’s scene so far from the Cowboys young DTs.
Let’s just hope both of these youngsters continue to progress, and quickly, because they will probably need to play a significant role along the defensive front in 2020. Whether it’s as a starter or backup has yet to be determined, but it’s still encouraging to hear that they are putting their best foot forward after the loss of Gerald McCoy.
