Tennessee Football will see a familiar face when the offense lines up on the field of Davis Wade Stadium for the first time on Saturday. Lining up squarely in the middle of the Mississippi State defense is Jalen Smith, a linebacker who spent his first two seasons with the Volunteers. Smith entered the transfer portal last December before the Vols’ playoff game against Ohio State and wound up elsewhere in the conference just a short time later.
Smith was thrust into a bigger role with the Volunteers’ defense in 2024 after starting linebacker Keenan Pili suffered a season-ending injury. Smith was still a rotational backup player, but did see a good bit of play as a third-down specialist in clear passing situations. He finished his final season in Knoxville with 34 total tackles.
Through the first four games of the 2024 season, Smith is the Bulldogs’ fourth leading tackler. He already has half the number of tackles that he had in 12 games last season with 17. While he’s not listed as a starter on the official depth chart, Smith has been an impact player for a Mississippi State squad that saw a huge amount of incoming transfers this past offseason.
Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby spoke about Smith’s impact during an interview with Bob Baskerville and Chris Low on ‘The RTI Low-Down’ this past Sunday night.
“Yeah, it has. For Jalen, it’s gone well,” Lebby said about Smith’s transition to Starkville. “He’s an unbelievable kid. A man that has just continued to get better and better, and he’s rolling at the mike spot. With Nic Mitch(ell) starting for us, Jalen’s playing a lot of ball for us. Man, just proud of who he is. I know he’ll be obviously excited to be able to see a bunch of guys this weekend and be ready to roll.”
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Smith will see plenty of his former teammates this weekend in Starkville, including the bulk of the linebacker room with which he played during his time at Tennessee. That includes Arion Carter, Jeremiah Telander, Ben Bolton, and Edwin Spillman. It also includes Tennessee linebackers coach William Inge.
Smith played against Mississippi State in Knoxville last season with the Volunteers. The 6-foot-2 linebacker racked up one tackle against the Bulldogs in Neyland Stadium.
“I would definitely say, you know, they were going to fight,” Smith said during training camp about his impression of MSU when he was playing with the Vols last season. “They’re going to fight to the end. They’re going to have some dogs, they’re going to talk crazy, they’re going to talk some junk. They’re going to try and get in your head, but at the end of the day, they’re going to bring that fight to you. Ain’t nobody going to back down. And, you know, I wanted to be a part of that because that’s what I’m going to bring, too.”
Tennessee won that game by a score of 33-14 in Knoxville. Running back Dylan Sampson ran for 149 yards while quarterback Nico Iamaleava threw for 174 and two touchdowns.
No. 15 Tennessee will take on Mississippi State and former UT linebacker Jalen Smith this Saturday afternoon in Starkville, MS. The game will be played at Davis Wade Stadium at 4:15 p.m. ET.
