Tyron Jerrar Smith (born December 12, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

where he won the Morris Trophy, recognizing the best offensive and defensive linemen on the West Coast, in 2010. Smith was drafted by the Cowboys with the ninth overall pick in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

High school career

Smith attended

Rancho Verde High School Rancho Verde High School is one of three comprehensive high schools in the Val Verde Unified School District. The school is situated on 38 acres in the southern section of Moreno Valley, California. Rancho Verde represents a community of diverse ...

Moreno Valley, California Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's p ...

, where he played on the offensive and defensive line. He earned All-American honors by ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

'', SuperPrep, PrepStar, Scout.com, and

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

, while also receiving numerous other All-Region honors. As a junior in 2006, he made Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass second team, All-CIF Central Division first team, and Riverside Press-Enterprise All-Riverside County second team. Smith played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Also a standout in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

at Rancho Verde, Smith notched top-throws of 14.23 meters (46 feet, 7 inches) in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...

and 46.62 meters (152 feet, 10 inches) in the discus. Considered a five-star recruit and described as "an amazing right tackle prospect" by Rivals.com, Smith was ranked as the No. 6 offensive tackle prospect. Scout.com, who also viewed Smith as a five-star recruit, listed him as the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the nation.

College career

Smith played three seasons with the USC Trojans from 2008 to 2010. As a freshman, he was the backup left offensive tackle. He appeared in 10 games. As a sophomore, he started the first twelve games at right offensive tackle. He earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention and CollegeFootballNews.com Sophomore All-American honorable mention for the 2009 season. As a junior, he appeared in twelve games.

Professional career

2011 NFL Draft

Smith was considered one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the

, along with

Gabe Carimi Gabriel Andrew Carimi ( ; born June 13, 1988) is a former American football guard. Carimi had 49 starts at left tackle in his four-year Wisconsin Badgers college career, which culminated at the 2011 Rose Bowl. He was awarded the 2010 Outland T ...

Anthony Castonzo Anthony Salvatore Castonzo (born August 9, 1988) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played his entire 10-year professional career with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). After a college career at Bosto ...

, and Nate Solder. Selected by the

with the ninth overall pick, he was the first offensive lineman drafted in the first round by the Cowboys since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989, and the highest in franchise history since

John Niland John Rodney Niland (born 10 September 1940) is an Australian academic and board director. Niland obtained a Bachelor and Master of Commerce from UNSW and his PhD is from the University of Illinois. He has held academic positions at Cornell Univ ...

went fifth overall in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

. He signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract.

Dallas Cowboys

2011 season

Entering the league as a 20-year-old rookie, Smith was named a starter at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

from the first day of Organized Team Activities, with Doug Free taking over the left tackle spot. His role became even more important after the Cowboys released veteran

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

men

Marc Colombo Marc Edward Colombo (born October 8, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle and coach who was most recently the offensive line coach for the New York Giants. He played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Ch ...

, Leonard Davis,

Andre Gurode Andre Bernard Gurode (; born March 6, 1978) is a former American football center and guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Colora ...

, and

Montrae Holland Montrae Rondrell Holland (born May 21, 1980) is a former American football offensive guard in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Florida State University. Ea ...

during the preseason. Smith started every game and earned praise for his play, prompting the media to speculate on a possible move to left tackle in the next season. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.

2012 season

Starting the 2012 season, Smith switched to starting left tackle, switching sides on the offensive line with Free. On September 12, Smith was fined $15,000 for a horse-collar tackle he did during the season opener against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. However, little celebrated was the fact that the tackle was touchdown-saving coming after an interception, which led to a goal line stand by the Dallas defense. He started 15 games for the Cowboys in the 2012 season.

2013 season

In his third year with the Cowboys, Smith committed just one holding penalty and allowed only one sack in his 16 starts. He was named to the

2014 Pro Bowl The 2014 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2013 season. It took place at 2:30 pm local time on January 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was televised nationally by NBC and was the final Pr ...

on Team Rice. He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.

2014 season

Smith signed an eight-year, $109 million contract extension with the Cowboys in July, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league at the time. He was widely considered one of the top three offensive tackles in the league, and for his play against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

, he became the first offensive lineman in 10 years to be named Offensive Player of the Week. He started all 16 games for the NFL's second ranked rushing offense, while helping

DeMarco Murray DeMarco Murray (born February 12, 1988) is an American football coach and former running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time first-team All-Pro, he was the NFL Off ...

become the league's rushing leader. He was ranked 36th by his fellow players on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 was the fifth season in the series. It ended with reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year J. J. Watt being ranked #1, thus marking the first year in the history of the countdown that the reigning NFL MVP was not ...

2015 season

Smith started all 16 games, helped clear the way for the NFL's fourth leading rusher ( Darren McFadden) and earned his third Pro Bowl selection. He was ranked 42nd by his fellow players on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 was the sixth season in the series. It aired on May 4, 2016. It ended with reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton being ranked #1. The Kansas City Chiefs had the most players selected with nine, while the Chicago Bears Th ...

2016 season

Forced to play through nagging injuries throughout the season, Smith helped lead the Cowboys to a 13–3 record, and aided rookie

Ezekiel Elliott Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995) is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned second-team All-America honors in 2015. Elli ...

in becoming the league's leading rusher. Smith was named the first team left tackle for the

2016 All-Pro Team The 2016 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and ''Sporting News'' (SN) for performance in the 2016 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the NFL ( ...

, the second time he carried this honor in his career. He was named to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and was named First-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

, both honors being shared with fellow Cowboy offensive linemen Travis Frederick and

Zack Martin Zachary Edward Martin (born November 20, 1990) is an American football offensive guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted 16th overall by the Cowboys in the f ...

. He was ranked 18th by his peers on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 was the seventh season in the series. It ended with reigning Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady being ranked #1. This made Brady the first player to be voted #1 more than once. It was also just the second time the #1 ranked ...

as the highest ranked offensive lineman.

2017 season

Dallas Cowboys Offensive Line vs Redskins 2017

Smith was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl alongside guard Zack Martin and center Travis Frederick for the second straight year. Smith's 2017 season was marred by multiple injuries, which included to his knee, back, groin, and hip. He started and played in 13 games. He was placed on injured reserve on December 29, meaning that he would not play in the season finale against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. He was ranked 39th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

2018 season

Smith started 13 games at left tackle, missing three with injury, on his way to his sixth straight Pro Bowl. He was ranked 52nd by active NFL players on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2019 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2019 was the ninth season in the series. It premiered on July 22, 2019 and the final episode aired on July 31, 2019. It started later in the year, and the show was shown in 10 consecutive days instead. Los Angeles Rams d ...

2019 season

Smith started 13 games at left tackle in 2019. He earned a solid 76.5 grade from PFF and was marked with 8 penalties; however, he only allowed 1 sack. This led to his 7th straight Pro Bowl selection since 2013. He was named #78 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

2020 season

In 2020, Smith had been bothered by a neck issue spanning within the past years. On October 9, Smith announced that he would forgo the rest of the 2020 season after choosing to have surgery on his neck. He was subsequently placed on the injured reserve.

2021 season

Smith suffered multiple ankle injuries that lingered throughout the season. Smith missed Weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, and 16 due to the injuries.

2022 season

Smith suffered a torn hamstring in practice during training camp. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2022. He was activated on December 17.

Personal life

Smith has one son, Jaxson.

References

External links

*
USC Trojans bioDallas Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tyron 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Riverside County, California People from Moreno Valley, California Players of American football from California American football offensive tackles USC Trojans football players Dallas Cowboys players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players