One of the few bright spots for the Vols during the 2017 season has been the play of true freshman offensive lineman Trey Smith. He’s looked beyond his years along the line, and he’s been extremely impressive no matter where’s he’s played along Tennessee’s offensive line this season.
And according to the college division of Pro Football Focus, Smith hasn’t just been one of the best true freshmen for the Vols or even the SEC; he’s been one of the best true freshmen in the entire NCAA.
Pro Football Focus’ college division looked at all the 247Sports Composite five star players from the 2017 class and graded out their performances on a scale of 0-100 for the 2017 season. The year is almost over, and with just a week left to play, it’s pretty easy to tell who’s had a great season and who hasn’t.
Of the 33 former five-star players in the 2017 class, 27 have played enough snaps to be graded. And after all those grades have been tabulated, Trey Smith comes in with the second-highest grade on the list.
Smith’s grade of 81.1 during his 696 snaps this season are second only behind Florida State running back Cam Akers who has a score of 85.6 on his 294 snaps. Smith’s 696 snaps are also by far the most among the former five-star players in the 2017 class. Only one other player has played more than 600 snaps on that list, and it’s UCLA’s freshman cornerback Darnay Holmes. He doesn’t have nearly the grade Smith does, however, earning just a 56.7 score.
Tennessee may not have a lot of positives to point to from this season, but Trey Smith is definitely one of those. His play as a true freshman provides hope that he will be a stalwart on Tennessee’s offensive line for the next couple years.
