FRISCO — They say competition brings out the best in a person. Or, in the case of Dallas Cowboys rookie Tyler Guyton, it reveals it.

Go back nearly two years ago, for example. Guyton was in his first season at Oklahoma after transferring from TCU. He was an off-and-on starter on Oklahoma’s line. When the bowl game rolled around, and two of Oklahoma’s starting offensive tackles opted out, Guyton was pressed into the starting lineup at right tackle.

It may not have the stakes of a College Football Playoff game or the Grandaddy of them all, but back in 2022, the Cheez-It Bowl ended up being a showcase for Guyton’s potential.

That’s because he matched up against Florida State star pass rusher and future first round pick Jared Verse.

“It was a battle,” Oklahoma coach Bill Bedenbaugh recalled.

With both sides landing blows. Guyton allowed one sack and a pressure, according to Pro Football Focus. He also had multiple-highlight worthy moments against a star edge rusher. It put Guyton firmly on the radar of NFL scouts. It had another effect, Bedenbaugh recalled: it instilled confidence in a player that needed it at the time.

That confidence hasn’t faded. Not even in the face of another challenge.

Guyton, the 29th overall pick, will be making his NFL debut on Sunday. Like other rookies, there are plenty of inherent challenges. Unlike other rookies, Guyton has the unique responsibility of going up against Cleveland Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Guyton was asked about facing Garrett and the feelings that matchup has evoked. Guyton, nonchalantly, deflected from the specifics.

“More football,” he said. “I’m always excited about more football.”

When asked if it’s different going up against such high-level competition, Guyton said, “it’s the same as every game. You have to prepare the right way.”

That last part is key. From the moment the Cowboys drafted Guyton, it was always assumed that he would be the Week 1 starter at left tackle. How prepared he would be, however, was a question. He was known as a raw prospect with elite potential, but not much experience. He was making a switch from right tackle to left tackle — a change that probably shouldn’t look as easy as Guyton made it.

With his biggest challenge to date looming, a question comes to mind: how did Guyton progress so quickly? It’s simple, really.

“You wouldn’t see progression,” Bedenbaugh said, “if you didn’t see the work.”

God’s gifts

And Guyton has fallen in love with the work.

“I love the game of football, I love my family, and I love sports,” he said. “And I think it’s fun to get better and learn.”

It’s apparent.

Guyton moved into an Airbnb in the Frisco area a day after he was introduced in front of the team. He’s been working with offensive line expert Duke Manyweather, located near the Cowboys facility, all off-season. He and fellow rookie offensive lineman Cooper Beebe quizzed each other often on the playbook in preparation to earn starting jobs by the season opener.

“Every day. Every day, I didn’t take a trip. I didn’t go on vacation. I stayed and worked with Duke every single day,” Guyton said about the off-season. “I got stronger. I toned up my body and also refined my technique within my set and my balance.”

Guyton’s diligence and worth ethic hasn’t surprised the Cowboys. That’s because of intel gathered by offensive line coach Mike Solari from a visit to Oklahoma before the draft.

“Just the feedback from the coaching staff about the progress that he made in comparison to … the great tackles that they’ve had up there and that really kind of stands out to me as far as information going into the draft. That’s held true,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I’m very impressed about just the way he’s come in here. He’s been very diligent. Takes good notes, just the little things. We all see he does everything on the field, but he’s doing the little things.”

That also didn’t happen over night.

Guyton didn’t begin his athletic career as a football player. Basketball was his main sport. He dabbled in baseball. It wasn’t until his senior year at Manor High School that he decided to put the pads on. Because of that, Guyton was a relative unknown as a college football recruit — even to Bedenbaugh, who said he hadn’t heard of him then. TCU was Guyton’s only scholarship offer, so he headed there.

Guyton was originally listed as a defensive line recruit at TCU, according to 247Sports. He worked a little bit at offensive line. He also caught a touchdown pass against Iowa State as an h-back.

Guyton decided to enter the transfer portal after the 2021 season. TCU had fired longtime head coach Gary Patterson, leading Guyton to check out his options. He still wasn’t on Bedenbaugh’s radar — until former TCU offensive line coach Jarrett Anderson, a friend of Bedenbaugh’s, alerted him about the 6-foot-7 offensive tackle.

Shortly after, Bedenbaugh saw why.

“You could see the tools in off-season conditioning,” Bedenbaugh said. “He’s 6-foot-7, 315 [pounds], can bend like he’s 6-foot-2, can run like a frickin tight end. It doesn’t take long to figure out.”

In Guyton, Bedenbaugh someone that possessed “God-given” offensive line talent, as he called it. And luckily for Guyton, he went to someone that could refine those gifts.

“Coming in here from OU, I bring a lot of things over from there. I think it’s probably the best university to go to if you’re trying to play offensive line,” Guyton said. “Coach Bedenbaugh is the greatest offensive line coach in college football, I think.”

When Guyton arrived at Oklahoma he was still relatively new — not only to football, but also to playing offensive line specifically. Still, Bedenbaugh saw his potential. He called him one of the most talented offensive linemen he’s ever coached, if not the most talented. That’s significant, considering Bedenbaugh has coached 13 offensive line draft picks in his 11 years at Oklahoma.

Bedenbaugh, knowing the potential Guyton had, coached him hard. He wanted to show Guyton how to focus on the details that he’s now showing the Cowboys. He wanted Guyton to have the confidence in himself that he had in his talented young offensive lineman. The two, ultimately, would go hand in hand.

After the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl, Guyton’s NFL stock continued to rise. He earned honorable mention All Big 12 honors. Potential was starting to meet production, offering a tantalizing skill set for prospective NFL teams.

The Cowboys ultimately selected Guyton 29th overall with goal in mind: they wanted him to be the replacement for future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith. Ideally, that would be by the start of his rookie season.

Guyton wasn’t just given that job, however. He had to prove that he could play left tackle in the NFL. He had to prove he could belong.

Going up against a familiar challenge helped confirm it.

A quick starter

Guyton started showing signs early in training camp that he was ready to be a starter.

Micah Parsons has bested many NFL offensive linemen in his three-year career. He’s been a three-time Defensive Player of the Year finalist for a reason.

Guyton not only held up against Parsons early in training camp, he excelled, stone-walling the speed rusher on multiple occasions. The performance was exciting, but it came with a caveat: what would Guyton do against an opposing team’s pass rusher?

The first answer came in a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams, and it turns out it came from a familiar opponent.

Going up against Verse at Florida State once gave Guyton the confidence that he could compete with the very best. Going up against Verse, a first round draft pick by the Rams, in training camp helped give confidence to those on the outside that Guyton was ready to be the team’s starting left tackle.

Guyton’s impressive preseason continued from there. He flashed against the Rams in the first preseason game. He played well against the Las Vegas Raiders and star pass rusher Maxx Crosby in the second preseason game. By the third preseason game, there was nothing left to see — he and Beebe sat out the third preseason game to ensure they’d be healthy for the season opener against Cleveland.

Bedenbaugh watched clips from training camp and from the preseason performance against the Raiders. He said he wasn’t surprised by Guyton’s performances because that’s the trajectory he believed he would be on. He saw the work at Oklahoma, so he believed in the progression.

Sunday’s season opener, of course, will be the biggest litmus test Guyton has had to date. Going up against Garrett, Guyton said, will give him the chance to see where he’s at and where he may need to get better. McCarthy has insinuated that the experience, no matter what, will be good in the long run for Guyton.

Regardless, Guyton is ready for the challenge. He was asked this week if he has any nerves about his debut. He said no, adding that he’s never been a nervous person.

A reporter followed up: where does that lack of nerves come from?

“Preparation,” Guyton succinctly said.

And the confidence that stems from it.