Raised by single mother in Fort Worth, the talented offensive lineman knows this is just the beginning.
Smith, the youngest of 48 offensive linemen selected during last month’s NFL draft, turned 21 on April 3.“This is just the beginning,” Smith said. “I want to show [the Cowboys] they didn’t make a mistake on me. This is my home city, so there are way more strings attached here. I’m representing my city. I’m representing that name on the back of my jersey.
The North Crowley football team comes together after lifting weights on Monday, May 9, 2022, at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Dallas Cowboys' first-round pick Tyler Smith played at North Crowley.An 18-volt cordless drill, tape measure and color-coded binders are among the items sitting atop Ray Gates’ desk in the athletics fieldhouse. Unopened cardboard boxes of shoulder-pad racks — assembly required — rest on the floor down the hall.
North Crowley is where he reluctantly accepted a position switch that then-coach Eugene Rogers presciently pushed for, moving him from defensive tackle to full-time offensive tackle as a junior after a sophomore trial run. It is where Smith met chemistry teacher and offensive line coach Brandon Harston, someone Smith considers a strong example of the many coaches whose father-like influence were a welcome addition to his life.
“Because I knew at that point, if we went to college, it wouldn’t be because we had the money to put me through college. It would be because I either got a scholarship or I was going to take out a loan, and I wasn’t going to take out a loan.”The knee surgery scared away top football programs in Texas and elsewhere. Tyler’s pass-protection technique was also quite raw and understandably so, considering how new he was to the offensive line.
Character is not only tested in times of adversity. It is also measured in how someone encounters success. Smith refused to turn his back on Tulsa and head coach Philip Montgomery, whose compassion and overall treatment toward him Smith appreciated and still, to this day, considers unique.
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