The first rule of being a sports talk radio host is to lean into silly controversies when your name is in the news.
Bob Sturm did just that Friday. Sturm, the Cowboys reporter and Dallas-area host who said he’d file his retirement papers if the franchise drafted Tyler Smith jested with the left tackle out of Tulsa after the team selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Tyler Smith called into Dallas sports talk radio to speak to the host who said he’d retire if the Cowboys selected him in the first round. Instagram / Dallas CowboysOn Friday, Smith called into Sturm and Corby Davidson’s afternoon drive show on The Ticket to confront his hater.
“I’m surprised you clocked in today, man,” Smith said, and you could hear his grin through the phone. “I saw some things on my social. I thought you were going to take a forever leave of absence there.”
Sturm responded with more levity.
“Well, you know what, I deserve every bit of it,” he said. “I got it wrong, and the Cowboys did take you in the first round, and good for you! We’re happy for you, man.
“Let me come clean, let me not turtle on this, I see you as a player as a bit of a developing thing. You’re the youngest player in the draft, right?”
Smith answered affirmatively to the latter part of the question, saying he turned 21 in early April.
Bob Sturm (bottom right) said he would retire if the Cowboys selected Tyler Smith in the first round. Getty Images