Tennessee football: Vols should move Trey Smith back to guard
Tennessee football sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith hasn’t made the same splash this year at tackle. The Volunteers should move him back to guard.
There’s no denying the fact that Tennessee football has struggled with lots of consistency on the offensive line through the first five games of the year. It’s a big reason they’re 2-3, and many of the struggles have come in the first half.
One of the changes with the line this year that Jeremy Pruitt implemented was moving Trey Smith to left tackle. It made sense at the start of the season. Chance Hall was not fully healthy, Drew Richmond had struggled there in the past, and Smith was far and away the Vols’ best offensive lineman last year as a freshman.
He was a natural tackle when recruited, so there shouldn’t have been any issue. However, there has been, and we can’t ignore it. It’s not so much, though, that Smith has struggled playing the position. It’s just that they need him more at guard.
For the year, Tennessee football has struggled significantly on 3rd and short. We’ve mentioned in the past that they’re 3-of-9 on the year on 3rd and 1, and that number is 1-of-6 in their two SEC games. Even with power backs Madre London and Jeremy Banks, they can’t run between the tackles when it matters. This is a direct result of poor guard play.
Jahmir Johnson has struggled severely at left guard, and Riley Locklear is now hurt. The poor play on that side was most evident when the Vols couldn’t avoid a safety on a simple running play out of the end zone against the Florida Gators.
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That’s even where Smith struggled playing at left tackle, as he did earlier in that game with a bad personal foul penalty. So he has made a couple of mistakes at left tackle, and guard play on that side has been horrendous without him.
The Vols don’t have any other options for Ryan Johnson except center. Jerome Carvin is developing on the right side, and Drew Richmond is fine at right tackle. It’s the left side that’s been an issue, and part of that is Smith not playing left guard.
With Chance Hall likely getting healthier and Marcus Tatum still on the roster, it’s a no-brainer to move Smith back inside. The Vols need him there to be able to be the star he was last year. They have enough issues on offense, but not being able to run between the tackles and convert short-yardage plays only make it worse.
Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton should take their chances with Hall or Tatum at left tackle, and if they have to, they can just go back to the running game a bit more to protect Jarrett Guarantano. Perhaps having Eli Wolf replace Dominick Wood-Anderson will improve their blocking on that side of the ball as well.
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Smith is still the best offensive lineman on the team. He’s actually been solid most of the time for Tennessee football. This is not about his play at left tackle as it is the issues at left guard. Moving him back inside will give Pruitt and the Vols more options, and it may help them finally establish the running game the way they want to.