Tennessee football: Vols OL Trey Smith projected as top breakout freshman in the SEC

By Caleb Calhoun | Aug 22, 2017

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /

Tennessee football is deep up front. But one analyst still projected Volunteers guard Trey Smith the top breakout freshman in the Southeastern Conference.

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Going into the 2017 season, Tennessee football already has three proven players at guard. That includes Venzell Boulware, Jack Jones, and the leader of the entire line, Jashon Robertson. On top of that, redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson, who figures to be a regular in the rotation this year, has been playing at guard.

But that has not stopped analysts from putting massive levels of expectations on one Vols true freshman.

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Guard Trey Smith, the prized bull of the 2017 class and a four-star in-state prospect, has spent the entire offseason generating a ton of hype.

However, to be fair, the coaches and players bought into it. But it’s now spreading out to other people.

And on Tuesday, Barton Simmons on CBSSports listed Smith as the top breakout freshman in the SEC for 2017.

The article listed one player for each team in the conference and ranked them based on the impact they will have.

Simmons noted that Smith is an early enrollee and has lived up to his recruiting hype in practice. But these expectations still seem a bit far.

All things being equal, this isn’t a crazy thought. And if he was at tackle, considering the injury to Chance Hall, this would make more sense.

However, with Smith entering a unit that is extremely deep, it was shocking not just to see him as the Vols’ top breakout freshman but as the top breakout freshman in the conference. Those are huge expectations.

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But the 6’6″ 320-pound freshman lineman has been exciting Tennessee football fans since his commitment. Can he live up to these expectations? Only time will tell. One thing seems sure, though. The Tennessee football offensive line is in much better shape than it was back in 2014.

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