When Texans All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. left the game last Sunday after aggravating a left oblique injury that has bothered him since the opening game of the season, backup Tremon Smith knew he would be tested.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence immediately targeted Smith. However, Smith held up fine as he allowed one catch for minus-two yards on six targets.
Now, Smith is prepping to start his first game since 2022 when he intercepted Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice.
A special-teams ace signed to a two-year, $7.5 million contract in the offseason, Smith is getting ready for Sunday’s home game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium.
“I felt pretty good and confident,” Smith said. “With Sting going down, of course, that’s not what we want, but it’s my job to be a pro and just be ready, even though I might have not have got the reps during the week. That’s part of my job being a pro.
“You just got to know we got one of the top corners, if not the top corner in the league, go down, so you got to know if you’re coming off the bench next, you got know they’re gonna attack you. That’s just the offensive mindset. So I just took that mindset, very aware.“
Smith, who has four tackles this season, has allowed two completions for five yards on seven targets this season and 25 catches for 283 yards and two scores for a 72.4 passer rating for his career.
The confidence boost from the Cowboys game and recording three forced, four passes defensed and a career-high 22 tackles in 2022 overall stuck with Smith.
“Yes, that’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Smith said. “I know I’m capable of going to make any plays on the ball. So, just going out there and just practice, just putting what I practiced to the field and just make sure it translated.”
Smith has 66 career tackles, five passes defensed, three forced fumble, three fumble recoveries in 103 games and five starts.
“Tre’ did a great job for us,” defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He can run and he’s a physical player. He showed up. He tackled well. He covered. I think any time a backup corner goes into a game; they’re going to test you on some deep balls.
“Listen, Tre can run. So, he managed to handle those when they were kind of coming at him and made a bunch of plays and made a big play on the end of the half there on the quick-game stuff, too. Did a really good job. If he plays for us again this week, he’ll be ready to go.”
Smith is one of the fastest players on the roster along with rookie corner Jaylin Smith, wide receiver Jaylin Noel and corner Kamari Lassiter.
“Jaylin Smith gave me a run for my money,” Smith said. “He got the high speed right now. Well, actually K3 does, so it’s we top three for sure.”
Aaron Wilson is an NFL and Texans reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com