Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith was selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the 24th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Smith is just the fourth player in TU history to be chosen in the first round, but it marks the first time a Golden Hurricane player was taken in the first round in consecutive years. TU linebacker Zaven Collins was chosen 16th overall by the Arizona Cardinals last year.

Smith is also Tulsa’s second offensive lineman to be picked in the first round of the NFL Draft. Seattle selected Steve at No. 14 overall in the 1977 draft.

“I’m extremely excited, proud and happy for Tyler and his family,” TU head coach Philip Montgomery said in a release. “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. 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.

“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. 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.”

Smith was a two-time all-conference selection, playing in 25 career games with 23 starts. The 6-foot-6 and 325-pounder was a FWAA Freshman All-American in 2020, while also earning first-team All-AAC honors. Smith started 12 games in 2021, earning second-team All-AAC.

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