Big Change But 'Home Cooking' for Rookie Tyler Smith at Cowboys OTAs

Dallas Cowboys rookie offensive lineman, and Fort Worth native, Tyler Smith, is set to begin his professional career in the place where the dream began.

As Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles once asked: “Who says you can’t go home?”

For Dallas Cowboys rookie offensive lineman Tyler Smith, heading home has been a journey he's welcomed with open arms.

The Cowboys’ first round-round draft selection (24th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft grew up in Fort Worth and attended nearby North Crowley High School. Smith was rated a three-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at Abilene Christian. However, Smith de-committed and signed to play at Tulsa.

Smith started all nine games at left tackle for Tulsa during the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He was named first-team All-AAC, as well as to the 2020 FWAA all-freshman team. In 2021, Smith started all 12 games for the Golden Hurricanes games. For his efforts, he was named second team All-AAC.

Following the end of the season, he announced that he would forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the Draft, where he was selected by Dallas.

As such, he is set to begin his professional career in the place where the dream began.

“I can just go to my mom’s house every off-day and get my clothes washed,” Smith said. “Being able to talk to your family, like if you have a tough day, or you just want to go home and eat a home-cooked meal. That’s always cool.”

In addition to being comfortable in his personal surroundings, Smith is also making himself at home in the Cowboys’ locker room. Dallas’ veterans have been quick to lend their expertise to their rookie counterparts, in the hopes of preparing the youngsters for game-action as soon as possible.

“It’s been a really good process,” Smith said. “It’s good work, too. We’re no-holds-barred when we go at it, it’s good competition. Safe, but it’s good. It’s great to get back to work.”

“Everything’s starting to speed up,” he said. “Learning to play [with stability]…in the speed of the game … Everything speeds up each level you go up.

"Just making sure you’re doing your film study right, you’re working your technique, all these little things just to make sure that when you go on the snap of the ball, there’s no mismatch, no lag: just being able to go full speed.”

As Smith looks to adjust to the fast pace of the pro game, he is also looking to add size and strength to Dallas’ offensive line. At 6-6, 330, the Tulsa product is expected to test his skills at left guard for the Cowboys in the upcoming season. ... though Wednesday at OTAs saw a bit of a change there, as our Mike Fisher details here from inside The Star.

A Theme of the Day here at The Star: #Cowboys comparing new kid Tyler Smith - with his foundation, strength and nastiness - to ol' pal @BigLeary65 (shout out, Leary!)

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) June 2, 2022

Still, keeping his feet on the ground, while reaching for the stars, may be a tough task. Many of the hometown stars he grew up watching are now his teammates. Whether it be ‘chopping it up” with five-time All-Pro guard Zack Martin, or absorbing the wisdom and counsel of eight-time Pro-Bowl tackle Tyron Smith, the Cowboys’ rookie lineman will continue to be the subject of great expectations.

Luckily, he can rely on some great home cooking to help get him here — while sharing it with some of his teammates Smith is set to host his offensive line teammates for a dinner at his mother’s house.

“It’s coming up,” Smith said with a laugh. “We’ll be good, though. The [offensive line] guys, they’re going to eat. But I’ll be eating, too, so I can’t even get mad at them.”

Perhaps you can go home, after all.

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