Guyton had the heat put on him this offseason with a battle for his position, but it's already won, and Smith detailed what has led to Guyton's improvement.
The onus was put on Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton this offseason, when the franchise made it known that he was in competition with Nate Thomas for the starting role.
For most, that meant either Guyton had to fall off a cliff or Thomas had to come on in leaps and bounds this offseason.
And a week into training camp in Oxnard, head coach Brian Schottenheimer made it known that Guyton was going to be the starter.
It wasn't really a competition at all, was it?
Guyton had stacked good days in Oxnard, and especially in the run game, where he's been seen giving DeMarvion Overshown a really hard time of it.
And with Guyton now taking the starting role at left tackle, that means that the idea of kicking out Tyler Smith to tackle is likely over as well.
Although, Smith isn't banking on it.
"I think we got to stay ready for anything, but I'll just say this, I have the utmost confidence in Tyler," Smith said. "Not everybody sees it, but we work together in the summer, we work together in the offseason. The body of work he's put forward, I feel like it's going to pay dividends and people are going to truly see who he is."
Coming into Year 3, this felt like now or never for Guyton.
A former first-round pick, the expectations were that he would nail down that left tackle spot and be Dak Prescott's blindside protector for years.
But that was in doubt as the Cowboys made it known Guyton was competing for his spot.
In truth, that was likely a ploy to light a fire under Guyton to enter training camp with vigor and truly show what improvement he's made in his game over the offseason.
But what has Guyton done to improve his game? Smith gave us a little insight.
"I think it was all inclusive," Smith added. "I think it was dieting, recovery, the way he trained, like cross-training, all those different things. It was more than just maybe I'll eat better during the week or more than just, okay, maybe I'll stretch before I go to bed. I really think he took a step back and saw what he needed to get better at. He truly attacked that on all fronts."
And now we are seeing the fruits of that labor as a week into camp, the position "battle" is a battle no more.
Of course, that could always change, but let's make one thing clear: Dallas wanted Guyton to win that battle. He's a first-round pick, and if Thomas had usurped him, that would have been nightmare fuel for the front office.
At least right now, there is no nightmare for the Cowboys, as Guyton has proved in the early stages of camp that he has progressed as they had envisioned.
That means the left tackle position is now sorted, as is the left guard position, with Smith now not seen as a potential option.
And it's all thanks to Guyton's offseason work that has answered one of the most burning questions entering Oxnard.
