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 htismaqe:
I think LDT has the bigger uphill battle in terms of physical skills.
It's going to come down to whether or not they understand the play calls and assignments. I just think the gap between Remmers and Niang is smaller at this point but that could definitely change as they get more reps in camp..
LDT when he was healthy was a pretty good player; remember, they gave him a pretty big contract. The problem was, he wasn't all that healthy very often afterwards.
I think the gap between Remmers and Niang is approximately 8 inches. That's the difference between Remmers 30.25" arms and Niang's 34.25" arms. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
LDT when he was healthy was a pretty good player; remember, they gave him a pretty big contract. The problem was, he wasn't all that healthy very often afterwards.
I think the gap between Remmers and Niang is approximately 8 inches. That's the difference between Remmers 30.25" arms and Niang's 34.25" arms. :-)
The arm length thing matters long-term but to start this season, I don't think it matters at all. They're going to put the best guy on the field and I still think that could be Remmers, at least in their eyes. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
The arm length thing matters long-term but to start this season, I don't think it matters at all. They're going to put the best guy on the field and I still think that could be Remmers, at least in their eyes.
agree to disagree, but I just don't think there's any way at all Remmers is better than Niang. Niang has faced NFL level pass rushers and did well in college, is prototypical OT size with above average mobility. It's just a whole different animal, and it appears he's been training and learning his entire red-shirt year.
We've seen Remmers play adequately at RT to even play well there. Based on the pictures from Minicamp, it's Remmers at RT and Niang is the 2nd LT. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
We've seen Remmers play adequately at RT to even play well there. Based on the pictures from Minicamp, it's Remmers at RT and Niang is the 2nd LT.
Niang has been playing both RT and LT with the 2nd team. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
Niang has been playing both RT and LT with the 2nd team.
which just means they're not handing him a starting spot. Any back-up OT should be prepared to be the swing tackle. And we already know Remmers has done that in the past.
Obviously not so good at LT.
It's June. The younguns are obviously going to be behind on their playbook and responsibilities compared to the vets. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
agree to disagree, but I just don't think there's any way at all Remmers is better than Niang. Niang has faced NFL level pass rushers and did well in college, is prototypical OT size with above average mobility. It's just a whole different animal, and it appears he's been training and learning his entire red-shirt year.
Just a whole different class of athlete.
And if he lines up and has no clue who to block at any given time, he won't start, regardless of how much of a specimen he is.
It all comes down to the mental game and I could totally see why the Chiefs would give the edge to a guy that played in 13 games last year.
Quite frankly, that's the sole reason I believe LDT will start over Smith. Because his experience is going to close the athletic gap very quickly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
which just means they're not handing him a starting spot. Any back-up OT should be prepared to be the swing tackle. And we already know Remmers has done that in the past.
Obviously not so good at LT.
It's June. The younguns are obviously going to be behind on their playbook and responsibilities compared to the vets.
Niang shouldnt be behind on his playbook. He’s had it almost an entire season. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
And if he lines up and has no clue who to block at any given time, he won't start, regardless of how much of a specimen he is.
It all comes down to the mental game and I could totally see why the Chiefs would give the edge to a guy that played in 13 games last year.
Quite frankly, that's the sole reason I believe LDT will start over Smith. Because his experience is going to close the athletic gap very quickly.
I think not knowing who to block is much more an issue for an OG than it is an OT generally speaking. At OT it's more an issue of being physically beaten. Just my opinion. [Reply]
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
Niang shouldnt be behind on his playbook. He’s had it almost an entire season.
sure, but the finer points, and adjustments and stuff they won't really know until they see it. What if this guy does that instead of this, now what's your adjustment, etc.
But in Niang's case, yeah, I'm fully expecting him to take that RT job. [Reply]
It's been a nutso offseason, and I've been wrong several times-and so have all of you honestly-nobody thought Veach would go full Leroy Jenkins and just blow it all up like that.
Originally Posted by saphojunkie:
I hope Remmers doesn't make this team. Y'all can sit around talking about how he was "pretty decent on the right side," but the dude got his shit pushed in during the super bowl, and it was embarrassing. No, I don't think moving him from left to right takes him from wet fart to starting caliber player. I think he sucks. He sucked in Carolina (playing right tackle) and he sucked for us. Of course, part of this is emotional for me.
And I don't think the staff agrees with me. I can easily see him or Wylie as the starting right tackle in week one, and I'm... okay... with that. But by the end of the year, it better be the new guys across the entire line, and I think it will be.
Look at it this way - there's no continuity at all unless you start Wylie and Remmers at RG and RT. Otherwise, there is literally no lineup where two guys played next to each other last year, so what difference does it make? Put the most talent in that you can, and I expect that to happen sooner than later.
So you don't want him on the team even though he did well on the right side because he didn't do well on the left side? Interesting logic there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
So you don't want him on the team even though he did well on the right side because he didn't do well on the left side? Interesting logic there.
Yea that’s an awful take to say the least. [Reply]
