PALM BEACH, Fla. – Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett plans to attend Alabama's second Pro Day in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Thursday on his way back from the league meetings in Palm Beach.
Potential first-round prospects like safety Mark Barron, linebacker Courtney Upshaw and running back Trent Richardson will participate after sitting out the school's first Pro Day on March 9. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and linebacker Donta Hightower did participate.
This is currently Garrett's only scheduled Pro Day visit, largely because he has been occupied with free agency and now this week's meetings.
"It made sense for me to stop there and go to this workout (Thursday)," Garrett said. "So that is one of the reasons. We have had reps from the Cowboys at a lot of different Pro Days. Scouts were there. We have had a number coaches go out and have individual workouts or go to pro days and see what these players were about."
Garrett made one Pro Day visit to USC last year, and the Cowboys wound up drafting offensive tackle Tyron Smith with the ninth pick. He worked on Tide head coach Nick Saban's Dolphins staff before becoming Cowboys offensive coordinator in 2007.
Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones also acknowledged this week that there are likely to be more top defensive players available at their No. 14 pick than offensive skill players.
Does that mean the club will stock Rob Ryan's defense with a guy like Barron, Upshaw or Kirkpatrick? We'll see. But it makes for some good pre-draft conversation.
