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Analyst: Tennessee football’s Trey Smith top SEC guard

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: LaBryan Ray #89 of the Alabama Crimson Tide battles with Offensive lineman Trey Smith #73 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: LaBryan Ray #89 of the Alabama Crimson Tide battles with Offensive lineman Trey Smith #73 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic has the Tennessee football Volunteers senior as the Southeastern Conference’s top guard.

Cole Cubelic clearly has a lot of love for the seniors on the Tennessee football offensive line heading into the 2020 season. Well, at least he has a lot of love for the seniors who are clearly going to start.

One day after naming sixth-year senior Brandon Kennedy as the No. 3 center in the SEC, Cubelic had even higher praise for Trey Smith. The SEC Network analyst put the two-time First-Team All-SEC senior at the top of his list of SEC guards on Twitter.

Joining Smith were Deonte Brown of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ben Cleveland of the Georgia Bulldogs, Ed Ingram of the LSU Tigers and Sadarius Hutcherson of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Cubelic put his rankings on Twitter.

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This ranking came the same day Smith was named a Walter Camp Preseason Second-Team All-American as a guard. For a guy who had blood clots in his lungs, missing two offseasons and the end of 2018, that’s a pretty impressive feat.

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Smith and Kennedy are both guys who initially weren’t expected to be part of Tennessee football heading into 2020. After all, it wasn’t made public until midway through last year that Kennedy would be seeking a sixth year of eligibility, and there was no guarantee he would be granted that by the NCAA. Meanwhile, everybody thought Smith would leave early for the NFL.

Well, Kennedy got the eligibility, and Smith decided to stay for his senior season. Add in the fact that Georgia Bulldog offensive lineman Cade Mays just transferred to Rocky Top, and the Vols’ entire starting lineup in the middle could be made up of guys who weren’t even expected to be on the team at this point last year.

That should give you an idea of just how loaded UT is on the line. They still have other elite players. Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright are rising superstars as they enter their sophomore seasons. Riley Locklear is a proven blocker, and Jahmir Johnson is a reliable player. Meanwhile, Jerome Carvin and K’Rojhn Calbert are developing quickly.

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Simply put, Jeremy Pruitt has loaded up the offensive line, and Cubelic’s rankings are proving that. Provided everybody stays health, Tennessee football could be incredibly talented there, and Smith is the face of that group.

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