Cowboys Reveal Game 1 Plan for KaVontae Turpin, Luke Schoonmaker

At Michigan, Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker caught 54 passes for 637 yards and seven touchdowns. In the USFL, KaVontae Turpin caught enough passes to be MVP. What’s their preseason Game 1 plan?

One guy is the largest pass-catcher on the team, the other guy the smallest. But Luke Schoonmaker and KaVontae Turpin enter preseason Game 1 with the same thing to prove.

First to “Schoon”: The Dallas Cowboys are stuck between a rock and a hard place with their 2023 second-round pick.

While the Cowboys want tight end Schoonmaker to hit the field as soon as possible, that reality was delayed as the No. 58 overall pick from Michigan was placed on the active/non-football injury list July 28 due to plantar fasciitis. Now that he's been removed from the NFI list, head coach Mike McCarthy said they are trying to ease Schoonmaker back into the mix, including being a part of padded team period reps Tuesday.

"I think like in any of these situations, ramp-up is part of the beginning camp for a reason," McCarthy said Monday. "Any time a player comes off of NFI or PUP, we will put him through the workload capacity of a ramp-up. So with that, you'll see him in individual drills, and he'll have a detailed worksheet each and every day just to get him back, so he obviously won't be full-go."

Schoonmaker said he's "hoping" he can play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Dallas' preseason opener Saturday.

"I just know that this week is definitely going to be some positive steps," Schoonmaker said. "It felt great. It's been awhile. Especially going from doing the rehab, it's the next step to coming back and putting it all together. It felt great to be playing football together and be out there and run fast."

Meanwhile, McCarthy is saying that the diminutive Pro Bowl return man Turpin won’t bother with that job on Saturday - but that’s because they have bigger plans for him - he’ll get lots of snaps as a receiver against the Jags.

The Cowboys released their first depth chart Monday, and Turpin is right there in the mix … and ready to unleash his gymnastic ability once he hits the end zone.

Turpin spent his offseason in the weight room and drinking protein smoothies. He's gained 10 pounds with the goal of scoring "at least" 4 touchdowns on special teams. #DallasCowboys📷 #CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/ptclxulfWW

— Bri Amaranthus (@BriAmaranthus) August 8, 2023

Turpin told Bri Amaranthus of CowboysSI.com that he’s bulked up 10 pounds … to 5-9, 165.

"I gotta touch the paint. I need to get at least four touchdowns this season on special teams," Turpin told us. 

Meanwhile, their tight end depth chart is jam-packed with Big Ten alumni. With two tight end positions listed on the offense, Schoonmaker - 6-5 and 250 - was second behind former Indiana Hoosier Peyton Hendershot. Other tight ends in the room he's competing against: Wisconsin's Jake Ferguson and fellow former Wolverine Sean McKeon. 

Dalton Schultz signed with the Houston Texans in the offseason, leaving the Cowboys with a combined 32 receptions, 288 yards and four touchdowns from its returning tight ends.

McCarthy said Schoonmaker has "been in the classroom" when he's been unable to participate in practice, showing off "a relatively high understanding of what's being asked of him."

The kicker is will he be able to translate the mental side of the game to the field, which is something McCarthy is wondering himself.

McCarthy said the tight end position is important in the passing game, and it won't take just one player to be successful.

"The completion percentage, the connection that every quarterback has with his tight end," McCarthy said. "Look at some of these quarterback-tight end relationships and how productive they are and an ability to be on the same page because they're tighter windows, but they're also shorter throws, bigger targets. We really like our group. I think they all have something to offer."

Schoonmaker hopes he’s healthy enough to offer it on Saturday in a big way. And Turpin hopes he gets thrown to so he can show off the advantages of his “little way.”

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Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419

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