Trey Smith will enroll early at Tennessee

Trey Smith told reporters Tuesday afternoon he decided to attend Tennessee about two weeks ago.

But his decision to enroll in college early came more like two years ago.

Smith, a senior offensive lineman who committed to the Vols on Tuesday, will take his final exams at University School of Jackson next week and enroll at UT in January.

He said he noticed a couple years ago a lot of Tennessee recruits were enrolling early.

“Most guys who enroll early do well. They get into the system well-adjusted,” Smith said. “I know one senior had a quote, Sean Pollard at Clemson, he was like ‘When you enroll early, by the time all the other freshmen roll around you feel like a seasoned veteran because they’re all throwing up and stuff.’

“ … Might as well get used to the system now.”

Whether college workouts take that toll on Smith or other freshmen remains to be seen, but the chance to participate in spring 2017 practices would seem to only help his chances for playing often as an underclassman.

Highly hyped at 6-5 and 310 pounds with plenty of skills already, it’s easy to see why a Tennessee fan base aching for the program to return to its glory days of the 1990s is excited to hear about Smith choosing their school.

But Smith acknowledged he needs to improve his stamina so he can be fully effective for longer periods of time, and USJ coach Rusty Bradley said Smith will have to develop his footwork to be a college lineman.

“It’s probably the best thing for him to do, wanting to play early,” Bradley said. “You go ahead and get used to the academics, you get used to what the offseason’s like. You’re going through spring practice and so you’re getting used to what a practice at the collegiate level is like without the pressures of getting ready to play in a game.”

The flip side is Smith will have to forego his final semester of high school, having earned enough credits to graduate, and jump into college life when his peers are still at home.

Trey Smith will be a Tennessee Vol

“It hasn’t really set in, I don’t think, because I’ve got a ton of homework tonight. So I’m really thinking about that homework right now,” Smith said with a laugh. “But it’s going to set in probably Friday. I still have exams coming up, but it’s probably going to hurt a little bit. But I’ll get through it.”

Bradley said Smith has the maturity to handle his early move to Knoxville, even though he just turned 17 over the summer.

“He’s spent so much time in the recruiting process and seeing so much at such a high level with the recruiting process, and been around so many great programs, I think he’s ready to jump in and get involved at UT.”

Bradley said Smith has had tough academic expectations at USJ and is confident Smith can do the same at Tennessee, but he said it will still require an adjustment and going early should help.

Smith is interested in studying sports management or sports marketing and recently decided he’d like to work toward a minor in business.

A significant life change awaits Trey Smith next month in Knoxville. Bradley said he hasn’t told Smith too much about the move other than to enjoy it and not put too much pressure on himself.

“Realize that you’re a new guy coming in and just try to blend in. Go in there and just be one of the guys,” he said. “There’s a great group of guys there at Tennessee that’s going to take care of him, and so he’s definitely going into a good program.”

Reach Craig at (731) 425-9634. Follow him on Twitter: @JSWriterCraig