KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – NFL scouts and coaches will converge on the Anderson Training Center Thursday morning as Tennessee football holds its annual Pro Day in conjunction with the league.
Members of the 2020 Volunteers squad participating include offensive linemen Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy, defensive back Bryce Thompson and wide receiver Josh Palmer. Smith, Thompson, Palmer all received NFL Combine invites, and Thursday will feature added importance as no in-person workouts were held in Indianapolis due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The NFL has worked with individual schools to achieve consistency in the drills and testing that takes place with each NFL team. Pro Day invitees participated in virtual media availabilities on Wednesday.
Players will have an opportunity to go through measurable drills of their choosing – 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill and shuttle run – and then conclude the day with position workouts on site.
Smith, a 2020 All-American, enters Pro Day as one of the elite offensive line prospects on the board for next month’s NFL Draft. Smith saw action on over 2,500 snaps during his Tennessee career, and he allowed only one combined sack in his final two seasons. A Tennessee graduate and recipient of the Torchbearer Award, Smith was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference recipient and winner of the 2020 Fritz Pollard Trophy and 2019 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year.
Palmer’s stock continues to rise as an explosive wide receiver. He capitalized on his 2021 Senior Bowl invitation by hauling in two passes and a touchdown in the contest after an outstanding week in Mobile. Palmer, a native of Brampton, Ontario, concluded his career with 99 catches for 1,514 yards and seven touchdowns with 16 of those catches being 25 or more yards.
Thompson proved to be a lockdown corner for the Vols during his three seasons. He still remains tied for the school single-game record for interceptions with three, and he finished his career with eight total picks. Thompson forced 10 turnovers, tallied 19 passes defended and made 102 tackles, including eight for loss.
Kennedy, a 2020 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete, served as a team captain and leader during his time in Knoxville. Kennedy started 22 games at center for the Vols and played 507 snaps during the COVID-19 shortened season of 2020, allowing only one sack. Kennedy earned a pair of master’s degrees from Tennessee.
The NFL Draft is scheduled April 29-May 1 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tennessee Football Pro Day Press Conference
OL Trey Smith
On which positions NFL teams have mentioned when discussing his future and his preparation for the NFL Draft…
“There have been a lot of teams that have talked to me about multiple positions, whether I like playing on the left or the right side, tackle or guard. Quite frankly, I can pretty much play either one, whatever the team needs me to play. I’m going to do what I have to do for my team to succeed. In terms of training, I spent most of my draft process training in Dallas at Michael Johnson Performance (MJP) with a lot of guys like Drew Little, Duke Manyweather and Ryan McCall. Those guys have helped get me ready for the draft.”
On his plan to help others with his bench press during Thursday’s Pro Day…
“(I was) scrolling through social media and seeing guys like Rashawn Slater, Creed Humphrey, guys that I train with. I saw the causes that they put on their social media. They reached out to me asking if I would be willing to make a post to help out with different types of diseases. So, first and foremost, it’s something that costs me very little. I simply just make a social media post. I think within an hour or two hours, the targeted amount of money that we wanted to raise was already raised. I think it was something that was easily done and for them, it means the world. For us as athletes, with the platform we have, I think it’s something that we should do. In terms of how many reps of bench press, I’m shooting for 30.”
On how his workouts have changed leading up to Pro Day and the NFL Draft…
“Pro Day focus and pre-Draft Combine focus is more so making sure that your body is at its optimum, peak shape. It’s what are you doing every day that’s helping to optimize your performance. Are you getting better? So, a lot of times in the morning at MJP, we’d go for about two hours. It could be a speed training or a simple lift. Then we’d take an hour or two-hour break before going back to lift again or it may be a speed focused day. Then, it’s maximizing your recovery for the rest of the day. At Tennessee, most of the time, we would have meetings. You’d get one lift in or maybe it’s more of an agility day. In terms of getting ready for a season, after this pre-Draft process of over, I’ll start focusing on building a lot more muscle mass and a lot more power in preparation for the NFL.”
On receiving Tennessee’s Torchbearer award and his impressions of Tennessee’s new coaching staff, led by head coach Josh Heupel…
“With the Torchbearer award, it is a great honor. I’m humbled and really blessed to receive it. You’re talking about a kid who came to Tennessee’s campus wide-eyed and a little unsure of himself. God’s good. Here I am standing here today, a Torchbearer recipient. I can’t do anything but just praise God and thank him for that. With the new coaches, I’ve been able to meet with Coach Heupel one time. I was actually walking in the weight room to meet Coach Kurt (Schmidt). I have a really good feeling about them. They’re really good people. I’m excited to see where Tennessee football is going to go.”
On how the Senior Bowl helped him during his Draft process…
“The Senior Bowl was huge. That’s a prestigious bowl and a prestigious event. Just being able to participate in it was an honor in itself. I would say that in the Senior Bowl, there were a lot of learning lessons that I had, especially with technique. I feel like as the week progressed, I got a lot better with it and I was able to master some of the things that I had been struggling with. I was extremely blessed to be in the Senior Bowl. It was a great opportunity to help myself and be better as a player.”
On the feedback he has received from NFL teams on his game…
“Meeting with different teams via Zoom and in that nature, I try to end every Zoom that I have with, ‘What can I do better as a player? What can I get better at?’ I’ve been getting feedback on hand placement, body balance, control and over aggression. At the end of the day, it’s about getting better as a player. I love getting the feedback because those are the people that are going to be my future employers. It’s been really helpful, in terms of my development.”
On what he will bring to an NFL team…
“I’m definitely going to be a tone-setter. I’m going to be a guy that when things aren’t going our way, I’m trying to be the most violent dude out there. I’m trying to set the tone from play one to the end of the game. I’m going to try to be a mainstay on the offensive line for years and years and years to come. I’m not trying to give my position up either.”
WR Josh Palmer
On what areas he thought he grew at the Senior Bowl and how much he thought it benefited him throughout this process …
“Just definitely being able to go and compete against the best players in the country. There were a lot of great guys down there and it definitely was a great experience for me to get my feet wet with an NFL offense. So, just being able to show that I can grasp plays and concepts and schemes.”
On the process so far overall and how does he not get too high with the success and not get too low with criticism …
“It’s just keeping my head down and going to work every day. Training at XPE, I was surrounded by a lot of great coaches – Anquan Boldin, Tony Villani, Matt Gates and just around a group of guys that were ready to work. In terms of not getting ahead of myself, I’ve never really been that type to let the outside media get to me. I always try to focus on things I can improve on. The success will speak for itself eventually. So, I just go in to every day trying to learn something new, and just embracing the whole experience.”
On what NFL teams tell him they like about his game when talking to them and what feedback does he get as far as improvement moving on to the pros…
“It’s all the same things – just my ability to get defenders moving, being able to stop to improve my game, the transition of running after the catch, blocking techniques and really just becoming a better overall player. That’s also something I have to improve on too, is just small improvements that will create big changes in my game.”
On if he has reached out to Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway for any advice on what look to look for in his rookie season in the NFL as a receiver…
“I talked to both of them a lot last year and just seeing what it was like. I got the same thing being in the playbook and just really understanding what you’re doing and what everybody else is doing and just taking care of your body because it’s a long season and you have to be able to sustain.”
On declaring for the NFL Draft after his junior season …
“The last game of the season I felt confident in my skills, felt I put good film throughout the whole year and I was consistent. I think I’m ready for that next level and I’m excited to see what it’s going to bring. Towards the end of the year when it came time to think about declaring for the draft, that’s when I started to weigh that option and go pro.”
On what position he thinks he can adjust to and play the best at the next level …
“I still say I’m a cornerback but I just love to be on the field. I’m always willing to play any position just to get on the field. Any NFL team can play me anywhere, put me where they choose because I am going to make plays there regardless.”
On what NFL teams like about his game …
“My versatility has been one of the key things NFL teams have told me that they liked about my game. They’ve told me how they like that I can play nickel, corner or safety. My ball skills are another trait because I believe I have some of the best ball skills in the country.”
On what he wants to accomplish during his Pro Day …
“I just want to go out there and do the best I can. I’m not going to set any specific goals for myself because I don’t want to put more pressure on myself. It’s great to be back on the field in front of coaches so I just want to enjoy this process and do the best I can.”
On what he hopes to show to scouts …
“Two main things that I’ve been working on is flexibility and explosiveness. I think those are the two main things that I really look back on during the season and thought I could improve on going into this part of my career. Tomorrow, I just want to go out there and have fun. This is something that I’ve done my whole life as far as playing football. Tomorrow, I just want to treat it just like that. I don’t want to make it too big of a deal.”
On where he has been training and his best attributes …
“I’ve been training here in Knoxville at D1. I’ve been down there and having a blast. I’m working very hard. The three things that I bring to an NFL team would probably be intelligence, work ethnic and toughness. Those three things, as far as intelligence in this offense last year, I set the protections and ID mike (linebacker) in the run game. For work ethic, a guy like me that comes into the building, I would be the first one there and last one to leave every day. As far as the toughness, early in my career, I battled some injuries. These past two years I’ve been healthy so I feel like those are things that I can bring to the NFL team.”
On what’s the process like in terms of meeting with NFL teams…
“It seemed daunting at first. At the end of the season, I was able to go to the all-star games, one in Orlando and one in Hawaii. So, I had those opportunities to showcase my abilities. Being able to talk with teams is just like talking to anyone else. They ask you about yourself, tell you what they think about you. It went easier as I went on but at first, I was a little nervous because it’s the NFL. You dream about things like that. To have the opportunity, I feel like I’m blessed.”
On when someone is in your situation, a late round guy or an undrafted free agent…
“Throughout your childhood, your goal is to be drafted. Either way, I just wanted an opportunity to be able to go in there and showcase my abilities. From being a kid, I always had this dream of going and playing in the NFL. So just to even be able to get my foot in the door and getting an opportunity is what I’m really focused on.”
-UT Athletics
