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Tennessee guard ready for NFL draft eager to explain blood clot issue

FILE - Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith (73) blocks against Georgia in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Athens, Ga., in this Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, file photo. Tennessee guard Trey Smith says he has no problem explaining his situation, even a million times if he must. He played college football while dealing with a condition that can cause blood clots, and Smith says it’s unique. But he wants to play in the NFL, so he has no problem detailing the plan his doctors and specialists put together allowing him to do just that. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) FILE - Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith (73) blocks against Georgia in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Athens, Ga., in this Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, file photo. Tennessee guard Trey Smith says he has no problem explaining his situation, even a million times if he must. He played college football while dealing with a condition that can cause blood clots, and Smith says it’s unique. But he wants to play in the NFL, so he has no problem detailing the plan his doctors and specialists put together allowing him to do just that. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

By TERESA M. WALKER / AP Sports Writer April 19, 2021 4 min read

Trey Smith has no problem explaining his situation, no matter how many times he has to detail his history of blood clots.

The Tennessee guard wants to make sure no NFL coach or general manager has any unanswered questions about his availability to play before the upcoming draft.

“I’ll explain it a million times if I have to,” Smith said. “Because it’s just something unique. It’s something that’s different. At the end of the day, I want to play football at a high level. I want to go to the NFL, so I have no issue whatsoever helping people understand what I went through and making them comfortable with it as well.”

The 6-foot-5, 321-pound Smith played 42 games at Tennessee even while dealing with his condition.

Blood clots in his lungs kept him out of spring practice in 2018, but blood thinners allowed him to eventually return. He missed the final five games that season when doctors worried Smith had a recurrence of blood clots before extended testing made them confident that hadn’t happened.