Everyone in Madison County and Jackson is already aware that Trey Smith is a phenomenal human being and athlete.
And in these four football seasons he’s been in the NFL, we’re watching him continue to develop.
First, let that be a lesson to all of us. No matter how good you get at whatever you do, you can always train or work to get better.
When Trey was honored by his actual hometown - Three Way - in October of 2023, longtime University School of Jackson head football coach Mickey Marley made a statement about Trey.
“He’s in the National Football League, so we know then that he’s one of the very best in the world at what he does,” Marley said. “But he’s a starter, so even further, we know that he’s one of the 32 best in the world.”
Well Trey took that notoriety another step further last week when he was named as an All Pro offensive lineman for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
If my research is correct, Trey is the third Madison Countian to be named an All-Pro.
The first two were Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Al Wilson. (If any of our other local NFLers were ever named All Pro and I missed/forgot it, my sincere apologies. Let me know, and I’ll write a separate column representing them.)
Trey has continued to parlay every opportunity given to him and turn that into something else to be parlayed into the next big opportunity.
At USJ, he was a big kid with good feet. Eventually the offers would come in from Ole Miss, Tennessee and others.
Those offers plus his God-given size and talent gave him the opportunity to be named the top recruit in the country by ESPN in 2016.
He waited to announce his college of choice until December of his senior year, because when he announced that, he was also announcing he was leaving USJ to enroll in classes the next month.
Then came the memorable afternoon in USJ’s theater when Trey, who was on ESPN with his father and sister, let everyone know he was going to Tennessee.
He had a good freshman season. He had a good enough year to be named to the Freshman All-America team.
Then came the struggles with blood clots in his chest, being told to hang his shoulder pads up and being told by God that he wasn’t done playing football.
He parlayed that obstacle into another opportunity to show how faithful God is because of how hard Trey was willing to work, and he overcame all the struggles of the Butch Jones era at Tennessee to forge a path to the NFL.
He didn’t get picked as quickly as he wanted - or as he should’ve.
But there’s something to be said for being picked for the top franchise in the game at the time, which is what he did.
Kansas City won the Super Bowl the year before they drafted him, lost in the AFC championship his rookie year and won the Super Bowl the last two years.
And this year, they look as poised as ever to win another with the way they rolled through the regular season.
But congratulations to Trey. He’s a great young man that deserves any and every good thing that comes to him, because he never wastes an opportunity.
Now the question is what opportunity does he work for now?
That’s the fun part of watching his career. We may or may not be able to predict what’s next, but it’s fun watching what’s next happen.
Brandon Shields is the managing editor of The Jackson Post. Reach him through e-mail at brandon@jacksonpost.news. Follow him on X.com @JSEditorBrandon. Follow him on Instagram @EditorBrandon.