LSU Football: Recruiting analyst ranks Maason Smith as a Top 15 freshman in 2021

LSU football true freshman Maason Smith is one of the top freshmen in the nation in 2021 according to a national recruiting analyst.

Mike Farrell, who covers recruiting for Rivals.com, is in the midst of ranking his top freshmen in 2021.

Earlier this week, Farrell ranked Tigers true freshman defensive lineman Maason Smith as the No. 13 freshman this year.

Here’s what Farrell had to say about Smith:

"Smith was at one point our No. 1 overall prospect for a reason. He lost weight after his junior year and became a pass rusher instead of just a pocket pusher. He’ll be in the rotation inside very early."

Should Maason Smith be ranked higher?

This ranking actually feels a bit low to me.

Smith, a former five-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 20 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class in 247Sports’ composite rankings.

But while that ranking would indicate that Farrell views Smith as having outperformed his ranking, it still feels like the Louisiana native should be ranked higher.

That’s mostly because Smith has been extremely impressive this offseason.

Veteran defensive lineman Neil Farrell said earlier this month that he believes Smith is going to “put on a show” this season.

That echoes some comments that Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron made earlier this spring when he said he viewed Smith as LSU’s best interior pass rusher. Coach O also said he could see Smith as a starter.

That’s insane praise for a kid who had only been on campus for a few months.

Not only is Smith going to make an impact for the Tigers this season, but he’ll also likely be one of LSU’s best defensive players.

How many freshmen can say that?

Probably not many. That’s why Smith should be ranked a lot higher on this list.