The battle in the trenches during training camp pushes both the offensive and defensive lines to be better. The Kansas City Chiefs have fortified both sides of their lines making competition intense as each player looks to prove their superiority.
Guard Trey Smith has garnered a reputation for being aggressive in his blocking and quickly gained respect from his teammates for his efforts to protect Patrick Mahomes. The third-year player spoke with reporters on Wednesday following indoor practice to praise rookie defensive lineman Keondre Coburn’s work ethic in camp.
“Yeah, I’ve gone against Keondre (Coburn) a couple of times. I love Keondre,” Smith explained. “[He is] amazing. He’s a great dude, fun to be around, extremely hard worker. We only disagree about Tennessee and Texas. Which one’s going to be the real ‘UT’? So we talked about that every day. But [I] love playing with him.”
The teammates have formed a bond through their college rivalry as Smith reminded reporters Tennessee is the “real” orange.
“I mean, he’s just doing a good job, man. Just doing whatever they ask of him.” said Smith, “A lot of is a big effort guy really gotta utilize his hands as being vital when he rushes.”
The Chiefs haven’t announced who will be starting and how long their stints will be for this Sunday, but the work is still getting done in camp by the team’s impact players.