Originally Posted by :
Henry Louis "Trey" Smith III has gone through much adversity since high school but continues to battle. His mother, Dorsetta, passed away from congestive heart failure when he was at the University School at Jackson in Tennessee. While there, he excelled on the gridiron, winning the Mr. Football Award twice and garnering a first-team All-American and top-10 overall recruit rating nationally. The Volunteers kept him in-state, and he received second-team All-SEC, Freshman All-American, and SEC All-Freshman recognition as a 12-game starter (eight at right guard, four at left tackle). After the season, however, he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs. Smith fought through that malady to return for the 2018 campaign but had to stop after seven starts at left tackle as doctors believed the clots had returned. However, additional study of those test results showed that doctors might have actually seen scar tissue from the previous clots. Smith worked hard in the offseason, losing 40 pounds, and he garnered 2019 first-team All-SEC honors after moving inside to left guard, where he started 12 of 13 games played. He was a first-team all-conference selection again in 2020, starting all 11 games at left guard for the Volunteers. He received the Jason Witten Award for leadership on the field and community service off the field, as well as the Fritz Pollard Trophy for extraordinary courage and community values. He accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. -- by Chad Reuter
Overview
When putting together a guard built for an NFL power-based scheme, the blueprint would probably look like Smith. He's big, wide, strong, long and will flash an aggressive streak when he gets geared up. The lack of body control and technique he put on tape suggests it may be difficult for him to overcome his limited athleticism. An offseason of fundamentals work should help Smith become more efficient into first contact, which will really unlock his power at the point of attack. He's been one of the more talked about guard prospects over the last few years but might be in for a bumpy beginning as he adjusts to the athletes and technicians he will face as a pro. Strengths
Elite size and length for the position.
Frame is broad and thick.
Very heavy-handed with plus upper-body strength.
Able to throw a sack of bricks at opponent when he punches.
Has physical potential to become dominant with better technique.
Drive power to turn base blocks out of the gap.
Can bang and cave his down-blocks.
Knock-back pop on both first and second levels.
Good job of finding targets on his short pulls.
Sets a very firm anchor against bull rushers.
Has faced off against a variety of current pro defenders during career.
Weaknesses
Lack of range shows up in run game and pass sets.
Long first step, causing him to overshoot his landmark and lose positioning.
Needs better footwork and hand clinch for improved sustain.
Will cheat secure block to save time getting up to linebacker on combos.
Plays with hitch and outside hands with pass punch.
Below-average body control and recovery potential.
Loses balance and positioning against rush counters.
Struggles to redirect weight after biting on fakes in pass pro.
Slide quickness to cut off the gaps is a concern.
Has dealt with blood clotting issues.
Sources Tell Us
"I guess you don't like big, aggressive guards, Lance? I know he has things to work on, but they can be coached up. The (history of blood clots) is a much bigger issue than anything on tape for me." -- Personnel executive for NFC team
I’m so happy for @TreySmith73 going to the @chiefs. Finally. Chiefs Kingdom got an awesome player and fantastic human!!
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
The first time I saw this on TV, I didn't know why Trey Smith didn't block #5. Now I realize that was just a bad TV angle and he blocked the right guy. Rice took a terrible angle on #5 and could have pushed him out towards the sideline.
He has struggled at times this year (which I say is Taylor's fault) but I hope he doesn't ask for the moon, because damn, that big man can run.
Hopefully, whoever plays RT next year will be considerably more athletic than Taylor, so we can run screens behind that fleet footed monster. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic:
He has struggled at times this year (which I say is Taylor's fault) but I hope he doesn't ask for the moon, because damn, that big man can run.
Hopefully, whoever plays RT next year will be considerably more athletic than Taylor, so we can run screens behind that fleet footed monster.
I remember seeing that the Chiefs had 3, maybe 4 players that were 5 star recruits coming out of high school. Trey Smith was one of them. Not that it really matters but I thought I would share the fun fact. [Reply]
From my untrained eye today didn’t do a lot to alleviate the concerns the board has had about Trey’s play since the Tampa game.
With that said, I thought this was interesting:
That’s not true. We were pretty good in my time. They’ve been a much bigger issue the last two years because Jawaan uses the same pass set every time where he sets super deep and allows the DE to get inside pressure. Until he changes it there’s nothing that will improve. https://t.co/3FrXXiosO1