Tyron Smith Receives High Praise From DeMarcus Ware

Tyron Smith was the Dallas Cowboys first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. There were high expectations for the former Southern Cal offensive tackle as the team was hoping he would help fix the team’s woes along the offensive line. Smith is now entering his first full offseason as a member of the Cowboys and is looking to make his impact felt.

Smith has been turning heads during training camp and the second-year pro has caught the attention of one of his highest profile teammates — linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Ware has been going head-to-head with Smith during offseason workouts and has noticed that Smith is everything the Cowboys hoped he would be when they made him their selection.

“The crazy thing about Tyron is he’s the first guy that when you lock up with him, you can’t get off of him,” Ware said via the Dallas Morning News. “He’s the first guy to ever do that to me. That shows the strength he has and how quick he is on the inside. He’s a very good, young aggressive tackle. When you try to beat him inside, you can’t. He’s just that athletic.

“Cowboys fans don’t have anything to worry about. He’s getting the job done and working hard.”

As a rookie, Smith started all 16 games for the Cowboys, however, all of those starts came at right tackle. He will now switch to the left tackle spot but the transition has not slowed down his progress as a pro.

“When you think about a tackle that’s coming from the right side to the left side, it’s a different speed change, but the athleticism of Tyron and how he can latch on to you if you try to overpower him or when you go around the corner, he uses his hands really well,” Ware said. “Him being that left young tackle is what we need. We need him over there being aggressive. I beat him every once in a while, but he’s been doing his job.”

If Ware’s assessment is any indication of what the Cowboys can expect from Smith in 2012, they should expect to have a Pro Bowl left tackle that will help the team in every way possible.