Smith, who played at Tennessee from 2017 to 2020, was a dominant player for the Vols during an era that wasn’t very fruitful for UT.
Tennessee won 20 games during Smith’s four seasons in Knoxville. Without Smith, that number probably would’ve been even fewer
Smith followed up his recruitment story by showing some major love for Tennessee fans.
“The last time I played a snap for Tennessee was going on over a decade ago, and people still know my name,” said Smith. “I go into restaurants and people talk to you. It just shows how great Vol nation is. You’re a great player and you treat the city right, man, they’ll show love continuously, bro. So like I said, there’s fandom and there’s lifestyle. They live that life down there in Tennessee.”
Tennessee fans may not have much to thank former head coach Butch Jones for, but bringing Smith to Rocky Top is one thing he deserves a lot of credit for
Despite being from Tennessee (Smith is from Jackson), it wasn’t a guarantee that Smith was going to play for the Vols.
Smith actually grew up rooting for Alabama. And the Crimson Tide were one of the programs hoping to land Smith during the 2017 recruiting cycle.
The former Vol joined New Heights this week and he explained why he ultimately signed with Tennessee.
“I got my first offer from Ole Miss, I think when I was 14, from Hugh Freeze and that was just sort of like a domino effect,” explained Smith. “I got offers from across the country. But for me, I always grew up a Bama fan, because my kindergarten teacher at the time, her son was an equipment manager (for Alabama). So I went to the locker room on game day — the first time I’ve been to an SEC football game or a college football game.
“My favorite color’s red. I love elephants. Bama was of one of the top schools. Nick Saban has won all these championships and stuff. Then obviously I started getting recruited, I started looking around a little bit, and ultimately, bro, it ended up being between Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Tennessee. And then the night of my decision, it was really Ohio State and Tennessee. And then I flipped to Tennessee in the middle of night. I was like, you know what — Tennessee makes more sense long term. It’s my home. I want to live there one day. I think it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life
