Knox West is off to a 5-0 start to their 2022 campaign. The Rebels have a ton of momentum moving to the back half of the season, especially after going on the road to Alcoa to avenge a loss last season. Knox West left a thrilling, Thursday Night contest as winners after gutsy performances from both teams. One of the biggest reasons for the success Knox West has been able to achieve is a player that wasn’t on the field for the final play against the Tornadoes, but he was still plenty involved in the game, and the ensuing celebration. CJ Smith is a 2024 prospect out of Knox West, and he showed his value to his team on the field and the sideline Thursday night.
Smith is 6’3 and 230 pounds, working at defensive end and tight end for West. Some prospects pass the eyeball test, but Smith pretty much gets a perfect score. He is a young man that you can tell just from looking at him is special. He sticks out on the sidelines and on the field, even going against other players bound for Power Five programs. Smith is, quite frankly, built like a redwood. He is long with a impressively muscles frame, one complete with arms that would make most bodybuilders envious. Looks aren’t everything, however. After all, the old saying of, “Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane,” has been around for a reason. Smith, however, is more a case of, “Looks like Tarzan, plays like King Kong.”
When opposing players hit Smith, it is like slamming into a brick wall. In the game against Alcoa and on his film, whenever anyone in a different colored jersey makes physical contact with Smith, the stop absolutely cold. If it is a ball carrier, once Smith gets a hand on them, they go down, and do so immediately. Smith’s physique isn’t just for show. He is an absolute brick house of a football player with exceptional strength. Run plays to his side get blown up because of Smith getting his hands on a tackle, stopping them cold, then shedding the block to get to the football. If he doesn’t make the tackle, he blows plays up by pushing an offensive lineman into the ball carrier’s lap. There are other parts to Smith’s game, but his strength and how he applies it are by far the most impressive.
One way teams attempt to mitigate a defensive end as effective as Smith is to try to run zone reads and screens at them to take them out of the play. Smith counters this with good technique, high football IQ, and being an absolute physical monster. Not only does Smith have power, he has the speed to attack the mesh point on the zone read, tackling both players more than once on film. He can show contain for the outside ball carrier, while still having the quickness to read a handoff to the back, chase him down, and make a tackle in the backfield. Screens do little to slow Smith down, as he read, processes, and reacts quickly to get outside, where he typically either puts a blocker flat on his back, or just bypasses them to lay the lumber to the receiver. It is just difficult to combat a player like Smith as an offense. Factor in the finality of the stopping power he possesses as a tackler, and it is clear why he is a corner stone of the Rebel defense.
Smith is also a good pass rusher, capable of using his speed to turn the corner on a slow footed tackle or tackle cheating too far inside. He is also capable of getting under a tackle and driving him straight back to the quarterback with a bull rush. However Smith gets there, once he gets his hands on a quarterback, the play is immediately and emphatically over. Being a junior, Smith does still have some time to develop, and an area he can look to add to his game would be in developing some more pass rush moves and his hand use. If Smith can develop those tools to add to his already impressive arsenal, they could be used to devastating effect.
While Smith was a big part of the Rebels’ win over Alcoa, he was ruled out due to an injury late in the game. This meant he was not on the field for the last massive plays the late game saw. Smith took a moment, had his head down and a towel on his head on the sideline, until one of his teammates came and picked his head up. It was like all the disappointment melted away. Smith became the most vocal, invested player, among many, on the West sideline. He was approaching his teammates, coaching them up, and rooting them on from the sideline. “Those guys are my brothers,” Smith said after the game. “I got hurt, so I had to trust them to have my back, and I had to do my best to have theirs “
Smith is a prospect that has slipped through some cracks thus far, but it appears that won’t be the case much longer. The Tennessee legacy said that the Vols have been talking to him, as well as Auburn, and Cincinnati. When asked about potentially playing for the Vols, Smith said, “I’m from here, man. I might just stay home.” The addition of such a talent would certainly please Josh Heupel and Rodney Garner as the Vols continue to put together their 2024 class.
