In today’s era of college football, it’s not uncommon for former players to play their old team at a new school. That was the case this past Saturday in Starkville when Mississippi State linebacker Jalen Smith welcomed Tennessee to his new home.
Smith, a defensive contributor for the Bulldogs, nearly pulled off the upset, but MSU gave up a late lead to allow overtime. The Vols struck on the first play of the extra period and didn’t give up the lead with a fourth-down stop at the goalline to win.
Against his former team, Smith played 23 snaps off the bench. According to PFF, he earned a 60.5 grade for his efforts. This was the 16th-best mark on the MSU defense of the 25 players to play a snap. He was given a positive 67.4 grade in run defense, but was tabbed with a 46.3 in tackling, 57.2 in pass rush and 58 in coverage.
In counting stats, Smith registered four tackles, none of which were solo efforts.
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Smith is currently a redshirt sophomore and will have two more years of eligibility following this season. He played a pair for the Vols to start his career, earning a redshirt as a freshman in 2023. He played in five games that first year, including the Citrus Bowl win over Iowa.
As a redshirt freshman in 2024, Smith’s role increased with Keenan Pili going down for the season. He notched 34 tackles, including 13 tackles on the year. He did not record a pass defense, sack, interception or force any fumbles on the year.
Despite playing a decent role on the defense, Smith entered the transfer portal before Tennessee’s playoff game against Ohio State. The portal would still have been open following the Vols’ elimination in the playoffs, whenever that may have been, but he opted to get a head start on finding a new school, instead.
Ranked as a three-star transfer, he joined Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State program coming off a 2-10 season.
