‘This is my dog.’ Chiefs’ Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey open up about their friendship
A pair of Chiefs offensive linemen played a sly trick during Thursday’s Super Bowl LIX media interviews.
Center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith swapped jerseys, so reporters not covering the Chiefs on a regular basis might have thought they were talking to someone else.
There was no ill intent in the prank. It was more of an inside joke between the cohorts.
Deep friendships form on football teams and perhaps the best-known Chiefs bromance is between Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs’ social-media team, however, picked the bond between defensive linemen Chris Jones and George Karlaftis.
But the longest-tenured Chiefs friendship? That would belong to Smith and Humphrey, who have been pals for a decade.
“I’ve known Creed since my sophomore year of high school, so we actually trained together in draft prep,” Smith said. “Creed and I’ve always sort of been in close proximity, if not the same location, just following him over social media. But one of my closest friends in my life.
“We had high school camps, and then you know everybody at football.”
Smith attended University School in Jackson, Tennessee, then played for the Volunteers. Humphrey attended high school in Shawnee, Oklahoma before joining the Sooners.
Imagine their surprise when the Chiefs selected both Humphrey and Smith in the 2021 NFL Draft.
“It was a surreal moment,” Smith admitted. “I remember FaceTiming with him, ‘Hey, we’re gonna be teammates.’ We had a little moment. And then, you know, we just did our thing.”
That thing has included three Super Bowl appearances and back-to-back championships.
Humphrey admires having a straight shooter like Smith by his side.
“Yeah, just how real of a person he is. He’s just a great friend to have,” Humphrey said. “He’s always going to tell you the right things. He’s always going to tell you the things that are real. So he’s just a great guy to have around, great leader, and he’s just an awesome guy.”
That feeling is reciprocated.
“He’s dependable, bro,” Smith said. “You know, he’s one of those guys you can really depend on in a pressure situation. If you have a need or an ask, he’ll always deliver. This is my dog, man. That’s the only way to put it I guess, and verbalize it properly.
“But when you have that trust in someone beside you, beyond just playing football, but when you have trust in someone you know, someone you can depend on, to me, that’s a good quality for a great friend.”
Although they work together, Humphrey and Creed also spend time away from the Chiefs facility.
They attend the same church, and after a service last month they came to the aid of a friend of a friend whose car was stuck in the snow. That work on the tackling sled together came in handy.
A video of the snowy rescue quickly went viral.
“I just reposted his girlfriend’s story and I didn’t think it would go viral the way it did,” Smith recalled. “But that’s pretty funny. We were just at the church and she needed some help.”
Hey, it was two buddies working side by side, just like they do on the football field.
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM.
