Tennessee senior offensive lineman Trey Smith is set to play in his final game at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee (3-6, 3-6 SEC) will host No. 5 Texas A&M (7-1, 7-1 SEC) Saturday at noon EST. ESPN will televise the matchup.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Smith met with media and reflected on his career at Tennessee. Since 2017, Smith has played in 41 games for the Vols.
“I would definitely describe my career as tough,” Smith said in how he would describe his Tennessee career. “From a personal standpoint and the things I’ve had to go through, the expectations every season. Sometimes we meet them. Sometimes we don’t. That’s obviously tough to go through, as well. I think just being resilient and going through a lot of different things.
“I know that Riley Locklear and I would always talk about how, when we first stepped on campus, we had a different o-line coach. We had coaching changes, as well. It hasn’t always been perfect, but at the end of the day, I love this university. I love this program. I’ve tried to fight every day for it, tried to be the best person I can be for it and trying to be the best player I can be for it. It’s not always an easy situation, but it’s something that I’m willing to fight for every day and I have fought for it every day. Going forward, we have to keep fighting to make this place better.”
Smith came to Tennessee as a heralded recruit and started 12 games as a freshman.
He became the first Vol true freshman to start at left tackle in over 30 years.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound senior was asked what he wants his legacy to be when he leaves the University of Tennessee.
“I want people to think that I’m a guy who cared about his university, cared about playing football here and loves this school,” Smith said. “He didn’t let adversity stop him from becoming what he’s going to be one day. When I say that, I mean being successful, having a football career, receive my degree as I already did and also play on the next level.
“At the end of the day, last year and even two years ago, nobody thought that I would be standing at this podium. Nobody thought that I would still be talked about. Nobody thought that I’d still be playing football. (It’s about) bringing that level of toughness every day, not really caring what other people say, but just coming to work, believing in God, believing in myself and believing in what I’m supposed to be.”
Ahead of senior day, Smith also discussed what his favorite memories have been during his time at Tennessee.
“I would say my first game ever here, when we played Georgia Tech,” Smith said. “That was really cool. I think we went into overtime. Winning that game in the fashion that we did, that was a really cool moment for me, especially being a freshman. I think we were the second game to be played in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That was a really cool moment.
“I can’t really narrow it down to two. I’ll probably say three. Beating Auburn on the road in 2018, a game nobody expected us to win and then also winning the South Carolina game last year in that fashion. That was a ton of fun.”
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