Tennessee football offensive lineman Trey Smith is now out indefinitely. Blood clots returned to the lungs of the Volunteers sophomore.
In a major blow to Tennessee football, the Vols’ best offensive lineman is out once again. Starting left tackle Trey Smith is now out indefinitely after blood clots returned to his lungs, according to a report from Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Smith missed all of spring practice due to his blood clots and had to be limited at the start of fall camp. However, he was still the best lineman on the team, which is why the coaches moved him from guard to left tackle.
Last year, Smith played all season as a starting guard at freshman. In the process, he earned All-SEC honors and entered this season as one of the top players in the league and the most highly-regarded returning player for Tennessee football.
Head coach Jeremy Pruitt said the most important thing is for him to get healthy, but this has to be a horrible break for him. The good news is that he is still expected to make a full recovery once again, it’s just sad that came just as he had fully returned to the groove of playing football.
This is also sad for the Vols. They already have major issues on their offensive line, particularly the left side. Without Smith, they could be in serious trouble as they head to Columbia to face the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday night.
Will Muschamp is a coach, molded from Nick Saban, who loves to affect the quarterback as much as possible. That just got a lot easier with Smith now out again. The Vols have options at tackle with guys like Marcus Tatum, Nathan Niehaus and even Drew Richmond, who starts at right tackle. Jerome Carvin could also play tackle as well.
But Smith was the only left tackle they had found, and he was so reliable there that Pruitt and Tyson Helton willingly sacrificed the left guard position, which has been horrible this year. As a result, the Vols could now be in much more trouble with both positions on the left side uncertain. And it could spell disaster Saturday.