OXNARD, Calif. – The Cowboys are back out west for training camp -- their seventh straight extended stay in Oxnard and their 12th trip since 2004.

The team charter arrived Tuesday afternoon with the first practice set for Thursday, July 26. With 16 practices scheduled through Thursday, Aug. 17, head coach Jason Garrett plans to lay the groundwork for the upcoming season – and the team hopes to take a step forward after a 9-7 record with no postseason a year ago.

The 2018 roster has undergone noticeable changes, specifically trending younger. Jason Witten and Dez Bryant are no longer around – and with Witten retiring in April, only three players on the current 90-man camp roster are 30 years or older.

"We were hoping maybe he'd pull that Escalade up and jump on the plane with us," linebacker Sean Lee said. "You miss seeing his car in the parking lot, you miss having that influence around. But we've talked about it in the offseason: all the lessons he's taught us, we're going to apply that now. He's passed so much leadership down to us, it's our turn to kind of take everything he's taught us and use it."

Allen Hurns, a former 1,000-yard receiver in Jacksonville who signed with the Cowboys in March, says he and the other new wideouts began developing a strong rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott in the offseason.

"Just building that chemistry with the offense and getting on the same page," Hurns said. "Get out there and get a feel for the offense. I did some of that in the OTAs, but there's only so much time there. Right now it's time to get in tune with everything and improve each and every day."

Camp in Oxnard breaks Aug. 17, just over a week after the Aug. 9 preseason opener in San Francisco – the Cowboys' only exhibition game during their trip to the West Coast.