Early in practice Thursday, Micah Parsons and Sam Williams stood to the side, engaged in their own private lesson. Parsons bent his elbows and raised his hands like a boxer while Williams alternated low-speed punches, forcing Parsons to deflect.

High left. Low right.

Low left. Low right.

Low left. High right.

Each time Parsons used a hand to ward off a Williams punch, the Cowboys linebacker quickly reset that hand to the ready position. The technique formed the basis of Parsons’ lesson with the second-year defensive end.

“With his hands, keep them in front of him,” Parsons said later. “Not dropping your hands. I was like, ‘We’re boxing right now. Keeping your hands and feet [in unison] because they’ve got to work together.’ … Just constantly moving, keeping your hands going, keeping their hands off of you.

“I’m trying to take everyone up a level because I’m trying to take this D-line up another level. That’s a part of growth.”

Parsons spent some of his offseason training in Austin, while most of his teammates did the same at Ford Center at The Star. Since rejoining them, be it the lessons Parsons learned from boxing or when picking the brain of retired offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, he has shared some of the insight gained.