The talent level of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team is rising.

Last Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys selected TU offensive tackle Tyler Smith as the 24th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft in Las Vegas.

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 16th 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 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 redshirt 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.”

Tulsa offensive lineman Chris Paul was the second Golden Hurricane player chosen in the 2022 NFL Draft as the Washington Commanders made Paul the 230th overall pick, the ninth selection of the seventh round.

“The greatest thing with Chris is that he’s such a team player. He brings a lot of versatility and he’s shown that on tape. He’s played both on the right and left sides at both guard and tackle,” said Montgomery.

Among Tulsa’s four NFL first round picks in history, 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 4th and 5th 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 Cowboys see great potential in Smith.

“We think he (Tyler Smith) can be our left tackle for a long time at some point in time,” Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said. “Obviously, we’ve got the best in the business now in Tyron Smith. But at some point, (with) his ability, we really believe he could be a top, top left tackle.”

Tyler Smith (6-5, 324) just turned 21 years old three weeks ago. He only had 23 starts — all at left tackle — in three seasons at Tulsa. Penalties were an issue at times, but the club believes those are correctable with more coaching and more time on task.

“He has a tremendous ceiling,” Cowboy coach Mike McCarthy said.

“The No. 1 thing is, he’s a big, athletic, physical man that’s going to play in a big, athletic, physical league, and that’s what we liked about him,” vice president of player personnel Will McClay said.

The immediate plan is for Smith to take left-side reps at both tackle and guard. Obviously, Tyron Smith’s left tackle spot is solidified, but left guard is still open for competition. Connor Williams and Connor McGovern split starts there in 2021. Williams signed a free-agent deal with the Dolphins in March.

The Cowboys did grade Tyler Smith higher than two other first-round guards who were drafted ahead of him: Zion Johnson (Chargers; 17th pick) and Kenyon Green (Texans; 15thpick).

Smith had the 16th-highest grade on the Cowboys’ board, team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. One team asked about trading back from No. 24. After Dallas declined and selected Smith, Stephen Jones got a text from that team’s draft room that read, “Be glad you didn’t trade with us. That was our guy.”

“I’ll fit in wherever they put me,” he said. “Being able to work with Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Terence Steele and guys like that, it’s a dream come true. Those are true vets. It doesn’t get any better than that, and to be able to learn from them – first team All-Pro for numerous years – it’s a blessing to get to work with those guys.”

Cleveland drafted four OU players

Oklahoma had players drafted in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Seven Sooners were drafted, including four by the Cleveland Browns. Defensive lineman Nik Bonitto was the first OU player drafted. The Denver Broncos drafted him in the second round – the No. 64th overall pick.

In round three, the Minnesota Vikings drafter OU linebacker Brian Asamoah with the 66th overall pick.

Bonitto’s selection marked the first time since the 2015 NFL Draft that the Sooners’ top pick was a defender (nose tackle Jordan Phillips was a second-round choice [52nd overall] by the Miami Dolphins). Only one OU defensive player since Phillips was selected higher than Bonitto — linebacker Kenneth Murray at No. 23 overall in the 2020 draft.

Broncos general manager George Paton said, “We took him because he was the best player on the board. “He’s done a lot — he’s lined up on the edge, he’s played stacked, they blitz him, he’s spied. He’s pretty dynamic in what he does. He’ll just make the group stronger. That’s what you need in our division and that’s what you need in this league.”

A two-time AP All-American (second team in 2020 and third team in 2021) and PFF’s 2021 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bonitto started 30 of his 39 career games (each of his last 30), including all 22 of his contests his final two seasons.

Asamoah played in 37 games as a Sooner and made 19 starts (all over the last two seasons), recording 179 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss (63 yards), 5.0 sacks (45 yards), three forced fumbles, five pass breakups and an interception. The 6-0, 226-pounder was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree (2020 and ’21).

The Cleveland Browns drafted OU defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey in the fourth round (No. 108); OU safety Delarrin Turner-Yell in the fifth round (No. 152); wideout Michael Woods in the sixth round (No. 202) and defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas in the seventh round (No. 223.)

The 6-4, 290-pound Winfrey played two seasons at OU after transferring from Iowa Western Community College. He was a two-time second-team All-Big 12 honoree as a Sooner, starting in 20 of the 23 games in which he played. He totaled 42 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks during his two seasons in Norman.

Denver general manager George Paton praised Bonitto even though the didn’t need a LB.

“That’s not why we took him,” Paton said. “We took him because he was the best player on the board. They’re all different. Randy and — they’re all unique — they’re all different. He just adds a little more explosion. I said at maybe our last presser, you want a wave of pass rushers.

“He’s done a lot — he’s lined up on the edge, he’s played stacked, they blitz him, he’s spied. He’s pretty dynamic in what he does. He’ll just make the group stronger. That’s what you need in our division and that’s what you need in this league.”

The Arizona Cardinals drafted OU offensive lineman Marquis Hayes in the seventh round (No. 247).

Three OSU defenders drafted

The Detroil Lions drafted Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriquez in the sixth round (No. 188) and the Dallas Cowboys drafted OSU linebacker Devin Harper in the sixth round (No. 193). Washington drafted OSU cornerback Christian Holmes in round seven (No. 247 overall).