When the University of Tennessee plays Indiana University in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, a couple of familiar faces will be in uniform for the 6 p.m. (local time) game that will be televised on ESPN.
UT’s Trey Smith, and Charles Campbell, who plays at IU, were teammates at the University School of Jackson.
Trey Smith was ranked as the No. 1 college football recruit in the nation by ESPN in 2017.
A 6-foot-5, 335-pound offensive lineman, Smith starts at left guard for the Volunteers.
For his play as a true freshman, Smith was named to the Associated Press All-SEC second team, among other honors.
Smith, who was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs following a freshman season at Tennessee in 2017, earned Freshman All-American honors.
Prior to the start of the 2018 season, Smith was cleared by physicians to play.
But Smith did not play the final five games of the season when tests appeared to show that the blood clots had returned.
A junior at UT, Smith was a five-star recruit and one of the nation’s top prospects out of USJ.
A member of ESPN 300, earned All-State honors from 2015-17, and won the 2016 Bobby Dodd Award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta.
He was name a 2017 Under Armour All-American, and 2016 USA TODAY/American Family Insurance All-USA First Team.
In 2016, he was named MaxPreps Football All-American First Team Offense, and a two-time Tennessee Mr. Football.
Twice he was selected his District’s offensive lineman of the Year, Player of the Year, and two-time Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Charles Campbell, a kicker and punter at USJ, was a 2017 Tennessee Mr. Football finalist (kicker), a three-time all-state selection and three-time district kicker of the year.
He was named a U.S. Army All-American and was invited to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Campbell, who was the 2017 Underclassman Challenge Field Goal Champion and 2016 Midwest Showcase Field Goal Champion, accounted for 237 career points at USJ, with a long field goal of 50 yards.
He recorded a career-long punt of 61 yards and landed 12 inside the 20-yard line as a senior.
In 2015, he was named first-team Kohl’s All-American, and was ranked the No. 5 kicker nationally by Rivals and the No. 31 prospect in Tennessee by ESPN.
(PHOTO: Charles Campbell)
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