Smith ready to lead Arkansas’ ground game
FAYETTEVILLE — Trelon Smith was an unknown commodity for the Arkansas Razorbacks one year ago.
There had been glowing reports about the running back's agility, power and elusiveness on the scout team from 2019, and former University of Arkansas running backs Coach Jeff Traylor provided emotional testimony about Smith's makeup and passion for football.
Then ace tailback Rakeem Boyd was hurt in the second quarter of the Razorbacks' 21-14 upset at No. 16 Mississippi State in Week 2.
It didn't take long for Smith, a Houston native and transfer from Arizona State, to become a fan favorite and a standout in the rugged SEC.
The 5-9, 190-pounder ranked 10th in the SEC with 71 rushing yards per game on 13.4 carries per game. He ranks seventh among returning rushers in the conference.
He ranks first in toughness for Arkansas running backs coach Jimmy Smith.
“He's got heart,” Smith said. “I gave him a nickname. I call him ‘Little Big Man.' He doesn't have any mirrors around the house, I don't think. He doesn't know he isn't big. When he plays ball, he plays like he's the biggest guy out there.”
Smith made a big splash with 81 rushing yards and 159 total yards and a touchdown in Boyd's absence in the Razorbacks' gut-punch loss at No. 13 Auburn.
For Smith, being productive in the first year of offensive coordinator Kendal Briles' system didn't come as a surprise.
“Since I've been here I've always kept my head down and worked hard,” Smith said. “So I just keep that same mindset every time I come out. I just try and stay neutral. I don't want to be too high or too low.”
Boyd returned after the Auburn game, but Smith continued to be the top rusher for Briles' unit.
“I think what helped us more than anything was the people around him got confidence in him,” Jimmy Smith said. “They started believing that he could do it. Because they didn't know.
“The year before, he didn't play. So, like the stuff that y'all report and what they see, is what they start to believe, too. Only thing they knew was Rakeem Boyd. That's all
they heard about. Once Trelon started playing it was like, ‘Oh, OK, he's pretty good too now.' So the kids kind of started believing.”
Smith ran for 54 yards in Arkansas' 33-21 upset of Ole Miss, then he averaged 6 yards per carry (5 carries, 30 yards) behind Boyd's 100-yard game at Texas A&M and 8 yards per carry (9-72) in the Hogs' win over Tennessee.
The next week, Smith broke off an 83-yard touchdown run, the Razorbacks' biggest offensive play of the season, and piled up 118 rushing yards in a loss at No. 6 Florida.
“He took it and ran with it,” junior tailback Josh Oglesby said of Smith cashing in his big opportunity.
“He didn't look back. That's what I love. He waited his time, his time came and he ran with it.”
Boyd opted out the last two games and Smith erupted. He ran for a career-high 172 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries at Missouri, then he compiled 69 yards on 19 carries against Alabama to give him 241 rushing yards in the final two games.
Smith entered spring as the unquestioned leader of the unit.
“The leadership role, I took it with open arms,” he said. “That's something I wanted to do. I feel like I'm a captain on this team. Leading the young guys, I have no problem doing it.
“They come to me with a question, I can answer it for them. I want them to know, you don't always have to go to Coach Smith. You can come to me as well. The young guys know that.”
The young guys also see Smith taking on linebackers and safeties for extra yards instead of trying to run away from contact.
“He runs into the linebacker like the biggest guy,” Jimmy Smith said. “When he finishes a run, he's not trying to figure out who's bigger or smaller. He attacks everybody the same way. That's a great thing to have.
“Honestly, that's why it's so important to have a second back because you have to have somebody who can take some of that off of him. He's running so hard and playing so hard, you have to have another guy that can give him a break. If I had two of him, we'd be all right. But there's only one of him.”
Jimmy Smith said his running back was a leader last year even with the offensive captain Boyd around.
“Trelon is that type of kid,” he said. “He loves football. In the weight room, on the field, he's going to go hard all the time.
“Although Rakeem was a good back and one of the guys we were depending on at the start of the year, Trelon practiced hard every day, went hard in the weight room every day. He's a natural leader because he loves football, and he goes so hard. … He's not selfish at all, which I really love.”
Smith said the battle for the second running back spot has gone well, with multiple candidates, including Oglesby, Rocket Sanders, Javion Hunt, AJ Green, senior T.J. Hammonds, who has been repping a lot with the receivers, and sophomore Dominique Johnson, who spent Tuesday at tight end.
“All of them bring different things, between Rocket and AJ, Josh is doing a great job, Dominique has a role,” Jimmy Smith said. “All the guys are doing a great job. We're going to continue through this fall camp and we're going to find a 2 and a 3.”