Tennessee sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith will be out indefinitely after physicians discovered the recurrence of blood clots in his lungs on Wednesday, coach Jeremy Pruitt announced Thursday.
Smith had been cleared by doctors to play this season after being diagnosed in February with blood clots in his lungs. He was being closely monitored by Tennessee’s medical staff and played in the first seven games for the Vols, who travel to South Carolina on Saturday.
“The most important thing is for Trey to be able to get healthy,” Pruitt said. “He has been an outstanding student-athlete during my time here on and off the field. Our sole focus for Trey is on his recovery. We are thankful that our medical staff discovered this and is getting him the proper treatment.”
Smith, ESPN’s No. 1 prospect in the 2017 signing class, will continue to receive care under the guidance of the UT team of physicians and is expected to make a full recovery.
Smith and his family spent several months this offseason consulting with a team of specialists and doctors, who reached a consensus that the best way to treat his condition was with a six-month course of anticoagulants (blood-thinning medication) followed by baby aspirin.
He missed spring practice and wasn’t cleared for contact until August.
Dr. Chris Klenck, the Vols’ team physician, told ESPN in August that a series of meetings and conversations with Smith and his family took place during the course of his treatment. There was a final meeting before returning to practice that included Smith, his father, Henry, Klenck, football trainer Jeronimo Boche and Pruitt.
“We sat down with Trey and his dad and said, ‘Here’s where you are, and here are your risks of recurrent blood clots,'” Klenck said. “After that long discussion with everybody involved, they felt good about where we are. He’s doing great and, while they acknowledged there is a risk moving forward, Trey has a good grasp of everything and feels comfortable.”
Smith spent three nights in the hospital in February after the clots were discovered when he had trouble finishing offseason workouts. He met with Dr. Wahid Hanna, a hematologist at UT Medical Center, and then traveled to Boston to meet with Dr. Sam Goldhaber for a second opinion. Goldhaber is an international expert in clotting disorders and the chief of cardiovascular medicine at Harvard University.
To cover all bases, Smith also underwent a cardiac evaluation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Smith’s mother, Dorsetta, died in 2015 at the age of 51 of congestive heart failure, making the diagnosis in February all the more harrowing for Smith’s father and older sister, Ashley, who works in the Tennessee athletic department. Ashley Smith was a student manager for the Lady Vols’ basketball team under the late Pat Summitt.