Tyler Smith goes to Dallas with 24th Pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

TYLER SMITH FINAL BIO I DALLAS COWBOYS DRAFT CENTRAL

LAS VEGAS, Nev. –– University of Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys as the 24th overall selection in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft Thursday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Smith is the fourth player in school history to be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. Smith's selection marks the second straight season that a Tulsa player has been a first-round draftee, which had never happened before in Tulsa history. Last year, linebacker Zaven Collins was taken with the 16^th overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith, a 6'6", 325-pound lineman, was a two-year letterwinner and two-time all-conference selection. He played in 25 career games with 23 starts. Smith played in four games as a true freshman in his 2019 redshirt year with two starts and was the starting left tackle the last two seasons.

"I'm extremely excited, proud and happy for Tyler and his family. This is a young man that came to Tulsa and has done really good things for our football team, both on and off the field," said Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery. "He received a little bit of playing time as a freshman and then took over the starting role in 2020 and has never looked back. Tyler is a young man who came here, changed his body and has been very productive on the field. He's been a leader in the locker room, on the offensive line and in the weight room.

"This is an unbelievable day for Tyler and we couldn't be more proud and happy of his accomplishments and his future."

As a red-shirt freshman in 2020, Smith earned Freshman All-America merits by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and The Athletic. Smith also earned first-team American Athletic Conference honors his redshirt freshman season.

He helped Tulsa reach the Lockheed-Martin Armed Forces Bowl in 2020 and the Myrtle Beach Bowl in 2021.

The native of Fort Worth, Texas, Smith played and started 12 games in the 2021 season, while earning second-team all-AAC accolades. Smith had a high grade of 94% on 69 plays against Temple.

"Obviously, Tyler did a tremendous job for us at left tackle, but he can play right tackle and I also think he can slide inside and play guard," said Montgomery. "With the things that Tyler can do just from a physicality standpoint he's not going to be overmatched. He has tremendous strength and he brings his hips as good as anybody I've ever been around as far as being able to finish blocks and move people."

"The versatility that Tyler brings is one of the things that NFL teams took notice of and why his stock continued to rise," added Montgomery.

Among Tulsa's four NFL first round picks, Smith is one of two offensive linemen chosen. Steve August was Seattle's first round draft pick, No. 14 overall, in the 1977 draft. The initial Tulsa first round draft pick was Glenn Dobbs by the Chicago Cardinals as the third overall selection in 1943.

This year marks the third consecutive year that a Tulsa player was chosen in the draft –– a pair of Hurricane defenders went in the 4^th and 5^th rounds of the 2020 draft – CB Reggie Robinson (Dallas Cowboys) and DE Trevis Gipson (Chicago Bears), while Collins was the No. 16 overall pick by Arizona in 2021.

The moment we've been waiting for! Tyler Smith (@Tee_sizzle_) is a Dallas Cowboy! #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/WT8EFiv3mH
— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) April 29, 2022

Tulsa Draft Notes
•    Tyler Smith became only the fourth player in school history to be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft –– 1943, Glenn Dobbs, Chicago Cardinals, 3^rd pick … 1977, Steve August, Seattle Seahawks, 14^th pick… 2021, Zaven Collins, Arizona Cardinals, 16^th pick.
•    Smith's selection marks the second straight year that Tulsa has had an NFL First Round draft pick.
•    This is the first time in school history that Tulsa has had NFL First Round Draft picks in back-to-back years.
• This year marks the third straight season that a Tulsa player was chosen in the draft. In 2020, a pair of Hurricane defenders went in the 4^th and 5^th rounds of the 2020 draft – CB Reggie Robinson (Dallas Cowboys) and DE Trevis Gipson (Chicago Bears), while Zaven Collins was the No. 16 overall pick by Arizona in 2021.
•    The last time Tulsa had NFL Draft picks in three straight years came between 1992 and 1994.
•    Tulsa is the only school from the state of Oklahoma to have a first-round pick in each of the last two NFL Drafts. Oklahoma's last first round selection came in 2020 and Oklahoma State's in 2014.

Tyler Smith goes to Dallas with 24th Pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

Players Mentioned

Tyler Smith

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