KNOXVILLE -- Josh Smith turned in what probably was the best performance of his Tennessee career last September when he caught five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown at Oklahoma.
It was also the last time the receiver saw the field his sophomore season.
Smith suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Tennessee's 34-10 loss to the Sooners, and the surgery it eventually required kept him off the field for the rest of the season.
"It tore me up," Smith said after Tennessee held its third spring practice on Saturday.
"It was very frustrating," he added, "because I had put so much work into getting better from freshman year, because that was a struggle. Getting hurt was like, dang, because I took a major step up. I was proving that. Just to get injured was a little shock to my heart. It was hard, but I've got to bounce back now."
Back from the injury, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Smith, a favorite of receivers coach Zach Azzanni, is trying to shake off the rust from his long layoff.
"We practice extremely fast," Azzanni said after Thursday's practice. "We're faster now than we've ever been. It's one thing to watch film and know all the techniques. It's another thing to rep it over and over and over. 'Oh yeah, Coach, that's right.' Things like that. There's not really one thing. It's kind of a host of things.
"Josh is fighting through that right now."
As a freshman, the Knoxville product caught 12 passes for 182 yards and struggled, particularly down the stretch of the season, with drops as he played through troublesome knee injury.
An impressive preseason camp turned into a role as one of the Vols' top wideouts, but the injury cut that short for Smith, who was a record-setting receiver at Christian Academy of Knoxville.
Tennessee freshman wide receiver Josh Smith runs wide.The Vols are without Jason Croom this spring, and Marquez North is limited after shoulder surgery late last season, but Smith is still battling with a veteran receiving corps that includes Pig Howard, Von Pearson, Josh Malone and Johnathon Johnson.
"I'm knocking the rust off and getting my habits right," he said. "Coach Z is coaching me up hard. You know how he is, and I'm trying to get right now.
"I'm trying to put in the work and do extra and just catch up with them, because they have a whole season on me now, so I need to step it up now."
Azzanni isn't concerned about Smith failing to rediscover the form he found early last season.
"I'd lie to you if I said he's a finished product right now," he said. "He's got a long way to go, got a lot of technique issues. He has not picked up where he left off from Oklahoma.
"I expect him to; he just needs more practice."
Smith said his conditioning has been the biggest obstacle through three spring practices. The injury essentially prohibited him from running and doing much on his leg, as he was on crutches and in a walking boot for weeks. He rehabbed three times a day trying to get the strength back into his leg.
"We run a lot, but that's part of it," Smith said. "I've just got to push through my threshold and keep fighting. That's just what I'm here for. I've got to get my spot back, and that's what I'm going to do."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.