Tag: Jordan Jefferson

LSU reportedly tried to schedule a Week 0 game to avoid Maason Smith’s suspension vs. Florida State

LSU looked into several options to avoid Maason Smith serving his suspension against the Seminoles.

LSU will be without one of its top defensive players in the season opener against Florida State in [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag], who is making his return from injury but will serve a suspension for receiving improper benefits relating to an autograph signing in July 2021.

It’s not ideal for the Tigers, and according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, it’s an outcome the team tried ardently to avoid.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] told Dellenger that LSU looked into scheduling an opponent for Week 0 so Smith could serve his suspension for that game rather than the top-10 contest against the Seminoles.

“We looked at all the options out there, certainly, and wanted to make sure that we examined everything that was possible,” Kelly said. “We looked at everything. We looked at a Week 0 game to bring in another opponent prior to Florida State. We looked at every imaginable option, but time ran out.

“We have enough people that looked at it from an NCAA and legal perspective, and there’s nothing in the bylaws about a grandfather rule. Once it came down, we were looking if we could pick the game [in which to use the suspension]. Is there an option to do that? A lot of those appeals were exhausted, and we were left with the eventual one-game suspension.”

Smith’s misconduct came just weeks before the advent of name, image and likeness rights, but it seems he was not able to be grandfathered in, as Kelly implies the school hoped he would.

A former five-star, Smith showed impressive flashes as a true freshman in 2021 and entered last fall with high expectations. Unfortunately, his season ended almost as soon as it started as he suffered a torn ACL against Florida State on the first drive of the season while celebating.

Without Smith, the Tigers will likely rely on a veteran in [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag], as well as West Virginia transfer [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag].

“The appeals didn’t turn out in our favor, and we are going to abide by the ruling,” Kelly said. “We accept the ruling. We’re going to move on and get ready for Florida State.

“Maason is a guy who impacts the game. You’ve got to have other guys step up. We feel like Guillory is a guy ready to step up for us. Jefferson is going to be counted on to play a bigger role for us.”

Smith will make his long-awaited return to the field in Week 2 when LSU opens up its home slate against Grambling.

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On3’s JD PicKell slams NCAA’s suspension of Maason Smith

Maason Smith’s suspension has seen its fair share of criticism.

LSU will be without a key player on defense in the season opener against Florida State.

Defensive tackle [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag], who is returning to the field after tearing his ACL in last year’s opener, will be suspended for one game for reportedly receiving improper benefits at a July 2021 autograph signing.

The decision from the NCAA to suspend Smith for actions that would be made legal just weeks later by the advent of name, image and likeness benefits has been controversial, to say the least.

On3’s JD PicKell is one figure in the media who has been critical of the decision.

“This, to me, I don’t understand it,” PicKell said, per On3. “I don’t understand it. I think it is lacking common sense. I think we’re thinking about this the wrong way and I wish we would just think a little bit less hard about things like this.

“If you want to punish him some other way, sure. Let’s figure that out. Make him give that money to a charity of his choice. That feels a little more common sense. But we’re suspending him for one of the biggest games of the season for LSU because he signed autographs before the season when everybody and their mama in college football is able to sign autographs and profit from it (now)? Let’s use common sense here, y’all.”

PicKell went on to elaborate that Smith’s alleged misconduct didn’t provide a competitive advantage, nor was it used as a recruiting inducement.

“So for Maason Smith, big loss for LSU because of what he could have done for the game,” PicKell said. “Impermissible benefit in NIL? Let’s figure it out a little bit here. Don’t like it.

“Common sense is a beautiful thing. Common sense allows us to adapt to our circumstances. The circumstances here have changed, we should adapt accordingly to them, in my humble opinion right now. Also this is not something where it’s like a recruiting violation. It wasn’t like Maason Smith was thinking about maybe coming to LSU and some guy met him in the back alley and said, ‘Maason, you come sign these autographs, we’ll get you paid, maybe you think about coming to LSU.’ He was already a player at LSU.

“This isn’t like a competitive advantage. He wasn’t trading autographs for game tape on Florida State. This doesn’t give LSU any better of a chance or worse of a chance if he signs autographs. Right? Also nobody got hurt. There’s no physical harm being done to anybody.”

Without Smith available in the opener, the Tigers will look to veteran [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] and West Virginia transfer [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] to pick up the slack and lineup on the interior with [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag].

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The best performance from every starting LSU quarterback this century

From Josh Booty to Jayden Daniels, here’s every LSU signal-caller from this century’s shining moment.

The story of LSU quarterback play this century has been something more resembling a Shakespeare play than a group of football players.

You have all the pieces for a great story. You have your superstar talents, like [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] and [autotag]JaMarcus Russell[/autotag]. You have the guys that were late-round picks but still won titles, like [autotag]Matt Flynn[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Mauck[/autotag].

You have [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarrett Lee[/autotag], two guys who won a lot but caught a lot of flack from fans. Don’t forget signal callers like [autotag]Zach Mettenberger[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Etling[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] — veteran transfers who proved to be critical additions.

And that’s not even the end of it.

Here, we’re looking at the best game from every LSU starting quarterback this century. Let’s not waste any more time and jump right in, beginning in the year 2000.

LSU’s best wins vs. Vanderbilt: 2009 season

The LSU Tigers defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores 23-9 in 2009 for their 21st win in the series between the two historic SEC programs.

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The No. 11 LSU Tigers hosted the SEC conference foe Vanderbilt Commodores on September 12, 2009, for the 29th installment of the game between the two conference teams.

The Tigers were coming off a 31-23 season opening win at Washington, while the Commodores entered Baton Rouge with a 1-1 record.

Tigers quarterback Justin Jefferson passed for 138 yards on 20-of-28 completions. Running back Keiland Williams carried the ball 10 times for 72 yards for two touchdowns as LSU defeated Vanderbilt 23-9.

LSU opened the scoring in the first quarter on a touchdown by Williams. Vanderbilt scored in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7 as Commodores quarterback Larry Smith scored on a six yard run.

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The Tigers put up six more points before halftime on two field goals by kicker Josh Jasper, as he connected on kicks from 32 and 22 yards.

LSU held the 13-7 lead at the half, but would only score three points in the third quarter to hold a 16-7 lead until the Commodores defense earned a safety and cut the deficit to 16-9.

In the fourth quarter, Williams scored on a 14 yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 23-9. That score would be the last one for either team in the game, as the Tigers earned their second win of the 2009 season.

To finish the season, LSU would finish with a 9-4 record with losses to Florida, Alabama and Ole Miss. In the Capital One Bowl, the Tigers fell to Penn State for their fourth loss of the season.

For Vanderbilt, they finished the 2009 season with a 2-10 record and an 0-8 record in SEC play.

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LSU’s best wins vs. Vanderbilt: 2010 season

The 30th overall meeting between LSU and Vanderbilt in 2010 saw the Tigers take the 27-3 victory.

After a 30-24 win in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta against the North Carolina Tar Heels, the No. 19 LSU Tigers took a trip to Nashville for their first SEC game of the season against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Tigers led 10-0 after the first half, scoring 10 points in the second quarter alone to take the lead into the locker room.

LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson finished the game 8-of-20 passing for 96 yards and an interception. Running back Stevan Ridley was the story of the game, rushing for 159 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

In the second half, LSU kicker Josh Jasper connected on a 23-yard field goal to put the Tigers up 13-3 and capped off a 13 play, 75-yard drive.

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Tigers running back Alfred Blue scored on a six-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 20-3 with 10:28 to go in the game.

With just under five minutes remaining, Ridley took a carry 65 yards to the house for another Tigers touchdown to put the game out of reach at 27-3.

Vanderbilt was held to 135 total yards of offense, and the Tigers had 392 total yards. Both teams had one turnover each, but LSU led in first down by a 21-8 margin.

Commodores quarterback Larry Smith was 8-of-15 passing for just 70 yards. Commodores running back Warren Norman ran the ball eight times for 68 yards.

The 27-3 victory for the Tigers gave the program its seventh straight win over the ‘Dores. The Tigers never trailed in the game, and only allowed the Commodores in the red zone just one time.

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