Dallas Cowboys on 'Hard Knocks': From rookies to Jerry Jones, five key characters to keep your eye on

As Mike McCarthy tells it, he just about drove off the road when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called to alert McCarthy his team would be featured on this season’s "Hard Knocks."

Dozens of NFL Films cameras granted inside access to the Cowboys? An even brighter spotlight than "America’s Team" already commands, all while McCarthy looks to remedy a shoddy 6-10 debut campaign in Dallas? McCarthy wouldn’t have voted for the arrangement.

“I am just going to be honest: I almost wrecked my truck when Jerry called,” McCarthy said when the Cowboys arrived at training camp. “But once I got back on the road, I am all in.”

Cowboys fans, granted an inside look into players’ and coaches’ conversations and personalities, are all in, too. The first episode of "Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys" debuts Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on on HBO. Five weekly episodes are scheduled in total, the final episode streaming two days before the Cowboys travel to Tampa Bay for the NFL’s season opener.

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But which players on the 90-man roster are most likely to shine on the docuseries? Which coaches will emerge as key 2021 faces? Here are USA TODAY Sports’ top five recommendations for who to track in the series:

Rookie linebacker Micah Parsons

Parsons already worked with the NFL Films crew this spring, a comfort level reflected by Parsons fraternizing with camera people at some Southern California practices. Parsons is a natural "Hard Knocks" star selection both because of his vibrant, congenial personality and because of the tantalizing talent he projects to be on the field. He offers filmmakers smiles and jokes as well as team-drill pass breakups and interceptions.

How soon will the versatile cover man/pass rusher threaten with this Cowboys defense? Coordinator Dan Quinn is aiming to expedite that timeline by giving Parsons extra attention, including during one-on-one sessions after practices. A closer glimpse into that dynamic would delight Cowboys fans.

So, too, would an exploration of Parsons’ multifaceted competitive nature. The 22-year-old has already challenged teammates like Amari Cooper to games of chess and Connect Four. Results of those games have been mostly under wraps. Could "Hard Knocks" episodes change that?

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn

Whether he is coaching defensive ends on their get-off or defensive tackles on how best to disengage from a guard, Dan Quinn has already demonstrated a knack for connecting effectively with his players in practices and around facilities. Cowboys players marveled as he challenged their note-taking skills with a vintage rap song, and they celebrate critiques from him as a sign he believes in their potential.

Perhaps "Hard Knocks" will temper the expletives that fly from Quinn’s mouth as he flies through installations and drills. Either way, the man tasked with turning around a historically bad Cowboys defense is likely to command screen time throughout the five episodes.

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Quarterback Dak Prescott 

Sure, the first 15 seasons of "Hard Knocks" embraced the underdog and fringe roster players. But the NFL Films/HBO partnership would be wise to consider compelling veterans on the Cowboys roster, and none is more compelling than Prescott.

The quarterback started 73 straight Cowboys games before his season-ending ankle injury last October. He’s mounting a comeback and getting paid a handsome $40 million to lead the team this season. How much will Prescott’s wit and snark shine through in mic-ed up elements? How about his friendship with fellow draft classmate Ezekiel Elliott, as each enter their sixth year - and each celebrated a birthday during training camp? Already, NFL Films has released a clip of Prescott jabbing second-year quarterback Ben DiNucci about his swag meter. Expect more zingers from Prescott as the season unfolds.

Linebacker Jaylon Smith

Along with Prescott and Elliott, Smith could push the 2016 draft class into contention for screen time with the 2021 bunch. Smith already embraces the spotlight, his Clear Eye View mentality driving his energy as well as his motivation to prove the Cowboys right in drafting him despite a gruesome knee injury - and then in signing him before fully gauging his potential. Smith and 2018 first-rounder Leighton Vander Esch will be challenging Parsons for the claim of best linebacker on this Dallas roster. The veteran duo thrived during Vander Esch’s rookie year, but Vander Esch has since missed time due to injury while Smith’s tackling and on-field leadership has been inconsistent. Smith has embraced Quinn’s scheme and its potential to include blitz packages for him.

Smith’s also been adamant he’s blocking out the heavy criticism showered on him in 2020 - because “Michael Jordan had criticism. LeBron James. Some of the best players in the world.” Cowboys fans looking to discern whether Smith has shored his game will be eager for any insight "Hard Knocks" can provide.

Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones

It was Jones who embraced the "Hard Knocks" crew as an “easy decision.” Jones  celebrates any and all attention on the franchise he’s built into a spectacle larger than football. And the Cowboys owner is also intimately involved in talent evaluation during training camp, watching practices from an observation tower between the two fields -often with members of his family.

"Hard Knocks" cameras spent time in those observation towers, and Jones likely will give them leeway to capture his reaction when players like receiver CeeDee Lamb and defensive end Randy Gregory flash. Perhaps an earlier episode is more likely to include Jones’ opening press conference, when he was overcome by emotion about how deeply he longs to return the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. But expect multiple lenses into the 78-year-old throughout the docuseries, including a seat beside him at practice.

Bonus: The roughly 30-person "Hard Knocks" crew has eyes and ears throughout Cowboys camp. So they’ll determine which lower-profile players are most compelling. But based on practice, defenders including defensive end Tarell Basham and rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph showed the type of edge that excites a camera crew. Receiver Malik Turner and tight end Sean McKeon are talents who have distinguished themselves in practices, but face an uphill battle in crowded position rooms. An interesting consideration: Would Cowboys staffers, who review the footage before it airs, consider downplaying stars like Turner and McKeon in hopes of stashing one on the practice squad? NFL fans will soon find out if they tune into the Cowboys’ third season appearance on "Hard Knocks."

“The Cowboys are going to take care of us,” Prescott said. “If you want to be great, you’ve got to understand the cameras and all those things are going to happen. So it’s something that I have embraced. We have fun, and we don’t necessarily worry about it.

“They do their job. We do our job.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

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