FRISCO, Texas _ Cowboys rookie defensive tackle and 2019 second-round pick Trysten Hill was not only late to a team meeting Tuesday, but he fell asleep during a speech by Hall of Fame NBA player Isiah Thomas, multiple sources said.
Hill, who declined to comment, was called out by Thomas during the speech last Thursday on leadership and what it takes to become a champion. It wasn't a laughing matter, according to one source who attended the meeting, describing it as a serious situation.
It's been a difficult rookie season for Hill, who has played in just four of the seven games and doesn't appear ready to contribute full time.
According to the Cowboys' defensive stats kept by the coaches, Hill is last on the team with just one tackle. He also has one quarterback pressure.
Hill wasn't the only player experiencing problems in the past week.
Starting defensive tackle Antwaun Woods was also late to a team meeting Tuesday and, like Hill, wasn't allowed to practice. Head coach Jason Garrett sent both players home.
"I was late," Woods said Thursday. "It won't happen again. I'm never late. I've probably been late one time in four years of being in the NFL, one time in five years of college."
Woods added he was "pissed" at being sent home, but respects Garrett's decision.
As for the Isiah Thomas speech, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who also goes by the nickname Zeke, was impressed.
"It was great," Elliott said. "He just came and talked to us about having a championship mentality and just how him and his team approached the game and how they held each other accountable and just really propel them to winning a championship."
Added Woods: "The biggest thing that was impactful was how he was playing he could focused longer than those guys like Jordan and Dennis Rodman and Magic and Larry Bird. He's the only one that could say he (beat) them more than they got him. That's the thing that I thought was pretty dope."
