Serving Pancakes: Cowboys Rookie Tyler Smith Begins Camp Domination
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When the Dallas Cowboys selected Tyler Smith No. 24 overall in April's NFL Draft, the pick wasn't well-received by some critics. A primary criticism is that he had severe penalty problems in college, as he committed 16 of them just last season at Tulsa. Out of those 16 penalties, 12 of them were holding calls.
To scouts, Smith primarily struggled with hand technique when blocking edge rushers as an offensive tackle at Tulsa. For Dallas, Smith is expected to slide inside to left guard (at least as a rookie). Inside, they believe, Smith will be able to utilize the bully demeanor and brute strength that scouts have praised.
That bully mentality and strength have already been on full display this training camp from Smith, as he's starting to serve all-you-can-eat pancakes.
Smith has a huge asset at his disposal by getting the chance to learn from Cowboys All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and Cowboys All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith. Smith doesn't seem to be wasting this opportunity, either.
"Keeping everything in sync and coordinated is huge for me,” Tyler said. “Zack really helped me with that a lot. I’ll be focused with my eyes. And with Tyron, I was like, ‘How do you not underset or overset?’
“Watching them, watching their tape, how they execute it has been really good for me. I’m in with them every day, so I’m always asking questions.”
With Smith's desire to learn and the performance he's been putting on at camp, there's every reason to believe Smith can get there quickly enough to silence the critics. … to overtake Connor McGovern at left guard … and to maybe deliver some pancakes to guys on the other team.
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