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!!
I always thought that once he cracked the starting lineup he would own the job. Now I thought we were going to have to wait for LDT to get hurt, but the kid's owned that spot from day one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Supposed to be a reach block by Humphrey. He doesn't get there.
Niang fired out of that like his job was to pull. I don't think that one is on him.
Yep that was on Creed. All Clyde needed was a little space. Niang and Smith were out there parting the sea. Gotta give credit to the tackle there. He was disruptive all night. Very quick and twitchy for his size. [Reply]
Man look at those DEs abandon their run responsibilities. Teams are fucking terrified of Mahomes. It was 2nd and 2 and those edge rushers' only care in the world was getting upfield to try and get a hand on the QB. [Reply]
Best Center Pass Block Win Rate Through Week 3 (ESPN)
Bradley Bozeman, JC Tretter-100% Creed Humphrey-99% David Andrews, Jason Kelce, Frank Ragnow-97% Rodney Hudson, Alex Mack-96% Mitch Morse, Chase Roullier-95%
I know some of the other holes on the team are frustrating, but at least the OL is young and looks promising. Solving that for (potentially) the next few years is huge.
Might suck to dedicate so many resources to one group in one offseason, but at least the moves look good right now (with the exception of some expected growing pains).
Having QB, WR1, TE1-3, a RB, and OL potentially set for next year is huge. That allows all resources to go towards another receiver, another running back, and DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE. My hope is that we feel good about our future at linebacker by the end of the season. Then the focus stay on DL and secondary. [Reply]
