Cowboys Rookie Shares 'Calm Down' Nick Saban Story

New Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was seen pounding the table in the team's scouting room ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, in which the Cowboys owned the No. 12 pick.

Following the retirement of franchise great Zack Martin, there was a glaring hole at the right guard spot. Schottenheimer was pleading for players with a high moral character and who loved the game of football, whether they filled that particular void or not.

Dallas found what it was looking for to satisfy all of those needs and drafted Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker.

Booker was reputed as a leadership legend with the Crimson Tide. Having been a three-year starter, Booker was the heart and soul of the team. The alpha male. The one his teammates turned to in times of uncertainty or doubt.

He's also a physically imposing presence in between the lines, with what was - in his words - "dominant" film to prove his first-round pedigree.

Following his selection, Booker was quoted saying he gets the most out of playing football when he's disrupting the experience for others. "I just love the aggressiveness and the tenacity of the game of football. It’s legal assault out there," Booker said. "I love football. The brand of football I play, I make guys not love football anymore."

During practices in Tuscaloosa this relentless mentality never wavered, even against his teammates, with Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban looking on.

In a pre-draft interview with The Draft Network, Booker remembers Saban having to tell him to pump the brakes during these intense workouts as a collegiate.

"I’ve always had that mentality," Booker said about this menacing approach each day. "That’s what allowed me to play so early [into my college career]. I was finishing plays down the field. I was always going that extra mile. There were days where coach Saban asked me to dial it back at practice like, 'Come on Tyler, those are your teammates',

"He had to remind me ... I rather have to be told to calm down than to be told to pick it up. That’s always been my mindset."

Like any rookie, Booker may need some time adjusting to the pro game. But if any trait of his is tailored for the highest level of football, it's his relentless aggressiveness and desire to overpower the opposition.

Booker is already being praised by his teammates, with many recognizing his unique that are only comparable of those of past Cowboys greats like Martin, Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick.

His quarterback Dak Prescott is liking what he's seeing out of the rookie as well.

" ... He’s doing a hell of a job,” Prescott has said during offseason workouts. “And you can tell this guy is a football player. Guy has a lot of pride standard in what he does.”