Impact Analysis: Linebacker Jalen Smith Makes No. 2 Volumes on Sunday

Tennessee picked up its second commitment today – another defensive possibility – at quarterback Galen Smith Grayson, J.A.; Joins his four star teammate Chandavian Bradleywho announced his intentions at the Big Orange just hours ago, Tennessee now has 18 pledges for the 2023 class and 11 on the defensive side.

It’s the fifth volunteer commitment in a week, the sixth total commitment during the period and the seventh volunteer pledge during the month of July. Smith has been around the Vols for weeks now, dating back to his official visit the weekend of June 10. He also officially visited Pittsburgh, Texas, and Virginia during the month.

Tennessee now has two linebackers joining Smith Jeremiah Telander in the assembly. Grayson High School is considered an outstanding 4-star by the Rivals with a height of 6 feet 0 and 215 pounds.

Here’s a detailed look at what Smith’s commitment to Tennessee means.

“Galen Smith is a very talented midfielder. He’s not a heavy guy who will come in and hit people, but what he does really well is diagnose what’s going on in offensive play and then attack the ball carrier to get them to the ground. Whether it’s outward play where they try to extend it – he can turn it on – Anything in the middle, it will stop.He does a good job picking the crowd back up for a run and putting them on the ground.

It can also blitz. He hits them well and picks where to get the quarterback. He’s not going to be the biggest player I’ve ever seen, but in terms of the guy who runs all over the field and gets people on the floor – I think that’s the most important thing in the SEC, especially since the teams are trying to spread the field a little bit. It will be able to reach everywhere and cover a lot of grass.”

– Adam Gurney, Recruiting Manager at Rivals

Smith isn’t a big guy, but not all midfielders are tall, and he weighs 245 pounds. Grayson High Standout is smart and fast. He studies the film and knows what will come his way. The nearly 6-foot-1,215-pound Smith reads through the blocks on the line of scrimmage and attacks the ball carrier to stop.

The best part about the new Tennessee commitment is its acceleration. Once he diagnoses what’s going on, the linebacker plants his foot and gets up on the field, often resulting in lose-lose interventions. Grayson plays a role that covers three or four looks in the background more often and Smith is tasked with containing the quarterback in rotations or a late draw. He is very, very skilled in this regard – in using his speed.

In the second tier of defense in the middle, Smith displays a sharp first step and runs down slopes with the movement of the play. The ally runs well, closing the space between him and the ball carrier to make play at or behind the line of scrimmage. Smith has good habits, playing over the blocks and not running under them, out of play.

Finally, Smith did a fairly good second-level snap. Timing is everything in a snap and Smith knows when to go. With a good combination of intelligence and speed, Smith is a serious combination and a really good setup player in Georgia State.

The team strength and conditioning program will work wonders for the leaner linebacker, the one who impressed the Georgia Bulldogs last month at camp. He will be an immediate contributor to the Special Teams of Volunteers unit in the fall of 2023 and we’ll see how he progresses into the two deeps.

It also complements what looks to be a strong committed class in the defensive side of Volunteer football. With the addition of Smith, Tennessee now has two linebackers, two LEOs, three defensive linemen, three safes, and one cornerback in the class. From here, Tennessee needs to continue adding cornering lines and defensive inside men up front.

Smith’s commitment to volunteers is another guy who can run and cover a lot of ground. Both he and Jeremiah Telander will be tasked with covering a lot of ground in playing SEC, as teams are spread out and quarterbacks aren’t afraid to run. This is a big part of Smith’s game as both can also stop running in the middle.

The New Tennessee pledge is also the sixth from Georgia as Fols continues to do well in the Peach State.

The Vols could see a lot of spinning in the quarterback room after the 2022 campaign with Jeremy Banks, Joan Mitchell and Solon Page entering their seasons in red. Aaron Beasley will be a real old man in 2022. Hence, there will be snapshots in 2023 and beyond. Look to Smith to try and find a backup role in this defense in 2023 with even higher aspirations in the following seasons.

With two commitments to pledge their intentions to Rocky Top on Sunday, Tennessee State continues to monitor commitment to a four-star offensive intervention. Lucas Simmons Announcing tomorrow at 1 PM ET. teammate offensive tackle Stanton Rammel and a wide receiver Nathan Leacock It shouldn’t be far from their ads either.