One of the bigger stories of the first two days of camp has been the absence of three players who failed the conditioning test required to participate in practice.
After missing two straight practices, the trio of running back Felix Jones, wide receiver Andre Holmes and safety Brodney Pool have all passed their conditioning test, putting them one step closer to practice.
“We have to be conscious of it being their first practice,” Garrett said. “We’ll keep rotating through with reps. But it’s good to have them back out there.”
When asked again to clarify an aspect of the drill, a more annoyed Garrett tried to put the conditioning test to bed.
“I want to really move on from this conditioning test,” Garrett said. “Those three guys (failed) it. We’ve said from the outset, they’ve said from the outset there are no excuses. They did their remedial running. They passed the test. They’re not going to practice (Wednesday). They’ll practice Friday and be ready to go.”
While Jones is expected to be the No. 2 tailback spot behind DeMarco Murray, the situation is different for both Pool and Holmes.
Holmes was the early favorite to win the No. 3 job behind starters Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. Now, he’s behind the pack of Kevin Ogletree, Cole Beasley, Raymond Radway, Dwayne Harris and Tim Benford.
“I’m very disappointed with myself for getting here and not being ready,” said Holmes, who apparently worked on more long-distance running that didn’t have him in football shape. “I’ve learned my lesson with that. Now I’ve got to just get out there and catch up. I’m behind but I just have to keep working and hopefully get back in the mix.”
Pool figured to be the leading candidate at free safety, but his absence has opened the door for Barry Church, who was taken first-team reps so far in camp.
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