FRISCO, Texas — The time is now for Tyler Booker, because it has no choice but to be when considering he'll be looked upon to quickly become the successor to none other than Zack Martin, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer that retired this offseason. And, as luck would have it, Booker's first test will be a daunting one, to say the least.
The rookie first-round pick will line up against Jalen Carter, in Philadelphia, and under the brightest of lights and hottest of scrutiny that comes tethered to primetime football but, by all accounts, Booker is ready to show why the Cowboys gave him the nod with their initial pick in April.
"You guys know Book, man," said head coach Brian Schottenheimer. "He's excited about the option to go play football. He's played against great players. … [and] Jalen's going to win some battles, Book's going to win some battles, and that's football, man. And if you can't get excited about that going into a matchup in a game, hey, man, and in the blocking game, how cool is that?
"Book is ready for the challenge, and it'll be a fun one to watch."
What certainly helps the 21-year-old is the fact he hails from a program at the University of Alabama that literally exists, weekly and annually, on the same center stage as the one he was drafted to play on. That would explain why there are little to no nerves involved when it comes to Lincoln Financial Field being viewed as hostile territory.
In the SEC, every territory that isn't your own is hostile, the same being true of, to the same degree of extremity, as every major collegiate program in the nation; and it also means Booker cut his teeth on other NFL-caliber talent each year before making his NFL debut on Thursday.
"I'm very excited," said Booker during his Week 1 preparation.
So going up against All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the two narrowly missing each other in the collegiate ranks due to Georgia — where Carter hails from — and Alabama not squaring off during the 2022 season.
Carter entered and was selected by the Eagles in the first round of the NFL Draft that followed.
"He's a great player and I'm very excited to play against him," said Booker, undoubtedly looking to use the matchup as an early litmus test for where he is in his rookie progression, but he's also not pouring any more nerves into the battle than he otherwise would.
"I'm just approaching it like I've approached every other game since college," Booker explained this week. "It's the most important game because it's the next game. I'm very much looking forward to Thursday."
It's that type of approach, along with the impressions he's already begun making on the coaching staff, that has offensive coordinator Klayton Adams joining Schottenheimer in being so ecstatic about the matchup to come between Booker and Carter that he's literally having a physical reaction to it:
Chills, to be exact.
"I think it's going to be awesome for him," said Adams. "You guys know how I feel about Tyler Booker. I think the world of him. I know that we'll probably look back in 10 or 11 weeks and go to ourselves, 'Wow, look how much he's grown.'
"I feel excited for him because of the type of competitor that he is. I'm excited for him to go out in Week 1, put the ball down and let's go freaking play. … Just be you, [Booker].
"I know he's gonna be excited and all that, but the type of person that he is and the type of personality that he is, and the type of competitor that he is, I mean, I get goosebumps just thinking about it because I know what he's going to look like before that game, and I know how he's going to respond. He's a guy that manages himself very well."
Rarely does a rookie get an opportunity to sharpen himself against one of the best in the NFL on his maiden voyage, but that's precisely the boat Booker finds himself in. His sole mission is to not let it be capsized, but to instead leave Carter and the Eagles up a creek without a paddle.
It's Cowboys versus Eagles, with a side mission of Alabama versus Georgia, as two first-round picks lock in to prove who's better, and on a national primetime stage.
Batten down the hatches.
