T.J. Smith has a conference championship ring. He would like to have another.

Smith, a defensive back who transferred from Kansas State, is one of the newcomers and leaders of a revamped Georgia Southern defense which made a statement last Saturday when it blanked The Citadel, 34-0, in the Eagles’ season opener.

Yes, it was a shutout against an FBS team and not a very good one at that but in today’s college football world of high-flying offenses it was one of only five recorded in all of last weekend’s season opening games.

“It was a good start for us especially defensively,” Coach Clay Helton said at his Monday press conference. “The ability to play 41 players defensively was a huge help.

“It was a great start and I think it builds confidence.”

For Smith it was the start he had envisioned when he made the decision to come home.

At Kansas State the 5-foot-9, 185-pound redshirt junior safety helped the Wildcats win the Big 12 championship last year. He played at McEachern High School for former Georgia Southern All-America offensive lineman Franklin Stephens.

“It was an amazing experience,” Smith said of taking the field at Paulson Stadium. “It was everything I thought it would be.

“It took a long time to get here but when Saturday got here it was every thing I wanted it to be. I had my family here.”

At Kansas State he got in four games as a true freshman before being injured and redshirted. He had two tackles in the Wildcats’ upset of No. 3 Oklahoma.

The following year he started seven games and played in 13 while last year he played in 11 games and had 19 tackles. Smith entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Georgia Southern in January.

Smith, whose brother Christopher II was an All-American defensive back at Georgia last year and is now a rookie with the Las Vegas Raiders, has quickly established himself as one of the Eagles’ leaders of whom big things are expected.

And if last Saturday’s win is an indication he and his defensive mates don’t intend on disappointing. It was the Eagles’ first shut out since 2020 when they beat UMass, 41-0, and only fifth this century. Two of the whitewashings came against The Citadel.

“I felt like we went out there and did what was expected of us,” Smith said. “We just went out and kept building. I was not surprised at the success we had against The Citadel.

“Coach Helton always preaches we win the game on Tuesday when we go to practice. We practice on Tuesday like it was game day. We practice hard and I feel like last Tuesday we did what was expected of us and we carried it on throughout the week.”

This week the Eagles take on Alabama-Birmingham and it will represent a definite step up in competition. The Blazers beat Georgia Southern, 35-21, last year and opened with a 35-7 win over North Carolina A&T in first year coach Trent Dilfer’s debut.

Dilfer played quarterback in the NFL for 14 years and has installed a pro style offense featuring quarterback Jacob Zeno who completed 38 of 41 passes for 291 yards against A&T.

“I feel like we need a different mentality this week,” Smith said. “Last week we played a running team; this week it’s a more versatile offense. It’s probably an offense that matches up more with our defense.

“We’re just going to have to step up to the plate and do what we need to do. We want to be the best (defense) in the nation and so every challenge that comes at us we’re going to attack at full speed. I definitely enjoy the challenge because it’s going to show us who we are as a defense.”