LSU Football: Maason Smith already delivering on the hype

The one player in the 2021 recruiting class that LSU football couldn’t miss on was five-star defensive lineman Maason Smith.

Smith, 6-foot-5/320 lbs from Houma, LA, was ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the top player in Louisiana and the No. 19 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class.

Missing on an elite in-state player like Smith would’ve been a bad look for LSU.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Smith signed with LSU during the early signing period.

And he’s already delivering on the hype.

Maason Smith is the real deal for LSU Football

True freshman defensive linemen typically aren’t expected to make a big impact, but Smith isn’t your typical defensive lineman.

The talented defensive tackle is already making his presence felt at LSU. In fact, Smith appears to be penciled in already by Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron as a starter.

“I can see a guy like Maason Smith moving up,” said Orgeron this week (via 247Sports). “He had a great practice today, becoming a starter in the rotation.”

Orgeron isn’t the only one in Baton Rouge that’s already been impressed by Smith this spring.

Junior offensive lineman Ed Ingram told reporters on Thursday that Smith is a lot to handle.

“That kid’s a dog, I can already see it now,” said Ingram (via Brooks Kubena). “He’s already giving me problems….he’s holding his own.”

We’ve seen plenty of five-star recruits fail to live up to the hype in recent years.

But it appears that won’t be the case with Smith.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith actually ends up surpassing the high expectations that were put on him as a recruit.

That would certainly be good news for Coach O and the Tigers.