One of Tennessee football’s prized freshmen, Travis Smith Jr., is going to wear No. 1 as a true freshman.
This highly sought-after number typically doesn’t end up in the hands of freshmen. Most recently, upperclass transfer Dont’e Thornton Jr. earned the right to wear it. Before that, Velus Jones Jr. donned the number on offense under Josh Heupel.
Now, it’ll be the former four-star who puts it on.
At Tennessee, newcomers get a placeholder number in their first spring session. Afterward, they can pick their number of choice. Following an impressive slate of practices in this opening window, Smith simply asked for the number, and it was granted to him.
“Spring, just having that dog mentality,” Smith said. “Then I asked for it.”
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This is a change-up from his high school number, as well. Smith wore No. 10 in his prep career and had the option to wear it again in college, with it going unclaimed among offensive players.
Since his time at Westlake High School in Atlanta, Smith has changed as a player, as well. The primary category has been his speed.
“Really my speed,” Smith said on where he’s improved the most. “Having guys in the strength and conditioning, having them previously be track guys, getting my core right. Getting my stride length right. They’ve really worked on me with that, even over time. Just my speed, I can definitely see a tremendous change with my speed so far.”
Smith is going to be in the mix to be a contributor for Tennessee as a true freshman. As an outside receiver, he’ll be behind Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell II on the depth chart. Besides those two projected starters, Smith is the likely next option. Now, with Brazzell missing the start of camp, he’s been shot up the depth chart even further.
