With Christmas just a week away, one of Jackson’s favorite sons, Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith, was more focused on giving gifts than receiving them.
Smith teamed up with United Way for Trey’s Holiday of Hope on Tuesday, a festive party that featured a dinner and photos with Santa, while gifting 10 local families in need hundreds of dollars worth of additional funds to help them satisfy both their grocery and holiday wishlists.
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“I had a lot of great Christmases, but my family never let me lose sight of those in need that didn’t have the same blessings and opportunities,” Smith said. “They should still be afforded the same Christmas experience that I’ve had in my life. I’ve been blessed tremendously, and I think it’s only right that I give back to a place that’s given so much to me. The Jackson community means the world to me.”
A poster for Trey’s Holiday of Hope hosted by United Way photographed in Jackson, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
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A proud Jacksonian and a 2017 graduate of USJ, Smith credits the community for helping build the foundation of who he is and makes sure to always honor the example set by his father, Henry Smith, and late mother Dorsetta Smith, who died in 2015, but he described as “the epitome of selflessness.”
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Smith reminisced about a childhood spent volunteering at soup kitchens, toy drives, and other philanthropic activities that helped him grasp the realities others face. He shared that his mother would treat strangers like family, always offering to help however she could, and said that by giving back to the community, he feels more connected to her.
“I know she’s proud,” Smith said of how his mother would feel seeing him use his platform to give back. “Jackson’s full of really nice, genuine human beings. I take tremendous pride in being from Jackson, and I want to help others in their journey anyway I can. It’s always love.”
Although a busy NFL schedule can make it difficult for him to visit home as much as he’s like, Smith still tries to visit a couple of times a year and said that although he couldn’t make it to Jackson for the holidays, he plans to return in the summer for his annual football camp.
Smith was a two-time Division II-A Mr. Football Lineman of the Year winner during his time at USJ, capturing the awards in 2015 and 2016. Both years, USJ advanced to the DII-A state semifinal game.
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Smith said that while he knew he was blessed with great physical talent, it was his support system that helped him reach the NFL despite facing physical adversity on his path.
Smith played four years at Tennessee, earning First Team All-SEC honors in 2019 and 2020, but he developed blood clots in his lungs that forced him to miss the final five games of his 2018 season in Knoxville.
He was a sixth-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft but quickly became the team’s starting guard on his way to helping the Chiefs capture two Super Bowl rings (2022, 2023). He’s the first Jackson area football player to win two Super Bowl titles and only the second Jackson area player to play in more than one Super Bowl. He joins Ed “Too Tall” Jones who led Dallas’ defense to Super Bowl appearances in 1976, 1978 and 1979. The Cowboys beat Denver for the Super XII title in 1978. Jones played at what was then, Merry High School in the early 1970s.
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“I had a great support system in Jackson and with my family that kept me grounded while giving me the inspiration I needed,” Smith said. “I hope people in Jackson still feel they can connect with me. I want to be a source of inspiration and hope for the youth.”
To those facing hardships of any kind, Smith encouraged them to keep fighting and to know that resilience triumphs over adversity, no matter how bleak the situation.
Though Smith will miss his mother this Christmas, he was happy to keep her “good” legacy alive by giving back to the community.
Santa listens to children’s Christmas wishes during the Trey’s Holiday of Hope hosted by United Way in Jackson, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
“God’s blessed me to be in the position I’m in today, but I don’t want to lose sight of others that need a little bit of help,” Smith said. “I’m proud to be from Jackson. I hope I can bring more attention to the city and that they’re proud of me too.”
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Reach The Jackson Sun high school sports writer, Isaiah De Anda Delgado, by email at IDelgado@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Former Tennessee football star Trey Smith inspiring Jackson athletes, families
