Battling blood clots, Tennessee LT Trey Smith released from hospital

Tennessee left tackle Trey Smith seemed destined for an NFL future after last season. A 5-star recruit, Smith became the first true freshman to start Game 1 at left tackle in a generation, earning consensus Freshman All-America honors and even Second Team All-SEC nods from the league’s coaches and the media. If anyone seemed like a lock to be a first round draft pick and a franchise left tackle for a decade-plus, it was Smith.

But a blood clot in Smith’s lungs appeared in February, causing him to miss spring practice. He returned to the field in time for fall camp, and started in each of the Vols’ seven games through last week’s 58-21 loss to Alabama.

The blood clot issue reappeared last week, sending Smith back into the hospital.

As the Vols battled to a 27-24 loss at South Carolina without their best player, Smith was released from the hospital on Saturday.

However, everyone in orange was tight lipped about Smith’s possible return to the field. After the game, head coach Jeremy Pruitt told this to The Athletic:

“We’re very thankful for our doctors for doing a great job to diagnose and figure out what was going on with Trey. It’s far more important than this football game,” Pruitt said. “Everybody knew Trey’s circumstance. There weren’t any secrets. Everybody knew it, everybody knew what was going on and everybody knew that this could possibly happen at some point. We had our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t, but unfortunately it did and our doctors have done a great job figuring it out.”

Doctors have found no genetic cause for Smith’s blood clot issue, but it is one that, once it appears, carries a high risk of returning later on, which is what happened with Smith.

Blood clots are potentially fatal issues that have forced multiple athletes into retirement in order to save their lives. No one’s putting such a prognosis on Smith at this juncture, but it certainly seems like all options are on the table.