Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt spoke to the media after practice on Wednesday, and he was asked about UT’s star offensive lineman Trey Smith. Pruitt gave some encouraging news regarding the sophomore lineman.
Pruitt was asked if he had spoken with Trey Smith about a possible decision for his career in football or if a timetable had been established for the sophomore’s return. Pruitt said that the topic hadn’t really been brought up, but the former five-star offensive lineman was already back working out.
“We haven’t even really talked about that,” Pruitt answered on Wednesday. “Our doctors did a really great job. He spent a couple nights in the hospital. He’s been out, and I mean he was out there working out today. We’re not concerned about that right now.”
Pruitt emphasized that Smith’s health comes first and football comes second, but it’s worth noting that the star sophomore was already working out again just a few weeks after it was announced he would be out an indefinite amount of time due to blood clots returning in his lungs.
Smith missed all of spring practices and most of the summer strength and conditioning program after blood clots were found in his lungs in the offseason. He had to go through several treatments and had to take blood thinners to help combat the clots.
The sophomore lineman returned to the practice field with Tennessee in the fall, but he was held out of more strenuous contact until after the first couple weeks of fall camp were over. Smith started at left tackle for the Vols for the first seven games of the season before the blood clots returned prior to the Vols’ match-up with South Carolina.
As a freshman last season, Smith started all 12 games for the Vols and played primarily at guard. He started at left tackle in the final three games of last year. He earned several Freshmen All-American and All-SEC honors for his performance on the field last season.
