Former 4-star yet to be full-go at USC. His return gives team a ‘beast’ on offense
Bryan Edwards has seen enough to know a healthy OrTre Smith can have a huge impact on the South Carolina offense.
He was there in College Station, Texas, when Smith made a key scoring catch against the Aggies. He was there in Columbia the next week when Smith made a highlight against Louisiana Tech.
“Him at 100 percent,” Edwards said, “we obviously saw flashes of it his freshman year at Texas A&M and then he had the one game at home where he caught the post route and bounced off two guys and scored.”
The two best plays in Smith’s college career are two years old. He’s a redshirt sophomore now, a potential big piece to the Gamecocks in 2019 — but also a question mark as he returns from knee surgery.
Smith, a former four-star recruit, says he’s yet to be at full-go in a USC uniform. His noteworthy freshman season — 30 catches, 336 yards, three touchdowns — came after his senior year at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant was cut short because of ankle surgery.
“To be honest, my freshman year I wouldn’t consider 100 percent because of my ankle,” Smith said. “But I feel like now I’m getting there. I just got to get some scar tissue out of my knee, but 100 percent is coming very soon.”
Edwards is the proven member of USC’s receiving corps, the one who could leave with a few program records. Shi Smith is one with a burst, a home run threat because of his team-best speed. And then there’s OrTre Smith, the other likely Carolina starting receiver, but perhaps the one with the most mystery surrounding him.
What are the Gamecocks getting with OrTre Smith performing at 100 percent?
“The real deal,” said Shi Smith.
“A beast, honestly,” said Edwards. “He’s a big dude. He uses his body well, has good feet. It’s just a matter of time before it’s his time to take over.”
When Will Muschamp announced that the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Smith was done after two games last season, the USC coach noted that the program “exhausted about every measure we could medically to alleviate the pain.” But the injury — a genetic issue affecting the kneecap — was too much to overcome.
“A lot of rehab, sometimes I would get a shot, like a little pain-killer shot before the game,” Smith said. “But eventually that didn’t really work, so … And I would practice every day to see how it would feel. And then I got a brace and that didn’t work.
“So they just decided just to go ahead with the surgery.”
The Gamecocks finished 7-6 with a loss to Virginia in the Belk Bowl.
“It was difficult not being able to play,” Smith said, “but with my knee and everything, I felt like it was another chance for me to create my body to where I wanted it to be. So it was kind of like a second chance, that’s how I kind of look at it.
“I don’t look at it in a negative way.”
Smith was limited in spring practice and didn’t play in the spring game. But he was active Friday when the Gamecocks opened training camp.
The 2019 opener is Aug. 31 against North Carolina.
“I feel pretty confident,” Smith said. “I feel my knee’s a lot stronger. So I’m just ready to get out there and make a mark.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Former 4-star yet to be full-go at USC. His return gives team a ‘beast’ on offense."
