Louisville Football: 5 Players Primed for Breakout Seasons
By Jacob Lane
Trey Smith – RB
RS Junior
Projected stats: 45 caries, 350 yards, 3 touchdowns
It could just be me, but it seems like running back Trey Smith has been on the Louisville campus at since the Michael Bush days, playing along side of guys like Anthony Allen and Kolby Smith. But of course that’s not the case.
Smith joined the Louisville program in 2015, coming in with a lot of promise and potential. After redshirting his freshman season, Smith was eligible in 2016, but didn’t get a chance to see the field due to playing behind much more experienced backs like Brandon Radcliff and Jeremy Smith.
Even after losing both guys (Radcliff to graduation & Smith to injury) in 2017-18, Smith still struggled to see the field due to the emergence of Malik Williams, and Reggie Bonnafon moving over to running back from wide receiver. Even with the position extremely thin last season due to injury, and even hearing praise from Bobby Petrino which seemed to present an opportunity, those carries just never came for Smith. He finished the season with 21 carries for 124 yards.
This season Smith has the potential to be one of the primary backs for the Cardinals, as he is currently the most experienced player on the roster. The 6’0, 220 pound back has a nice combination of size and speed, and gives the Cards another good option out of the backfield. Though he is the most experienced, Smith will still be competing for snaps (once again) with younger runners Colin Wilson, and Dae Williams.
However, I fully expect Petrino to finally give the junior running back a chance to prove he can be a contributing player in 2018-19, hence why I’ve predicted him to have reach career highs in carries, yards, and touchdowns.
With a strong summer/fall camp, Smith could even find himself as the starting running back heading into the team’s opening game against Alabama.