Tag: maason smith

LSU DT Maason Smith named to FWAA’s Freshman All-American team

Some accolades coming the way of freshman DT Maason Smith.

The FWAA released their Freshman All-American team on Monday. With plenty of talented newcomers, the LSU defense was still able to get one man on the list this year.

The lone LSU Tiger to make the list was defensive tackle Maason Smith. Not shocking considering his level of impact on the defense. Smith was asked to play both inside and outside on the defensive line due to injuries on the edge. Smith should be a high-impact defender next season under the guidance of new defensive line coach Jamar Cain, who comes over from Oklahoma.

Maason Smith of LSU was the nation’s top prep defensive lineman in the fall of 2020 and became a coaches’ pick as an All-SEC Freshman in 2021. He earned three starts toward the end of the season and was third on the team with four sacks. Smith gives LSU a defensive member of the team in five of the last six seasons.

Smith finished out his freshman campaign with 19 total tackles, five TFLs, and four sacks. His presence can’t be understated from this past season where the health of the defensive line was a major concern. Heading into 2022, Smith should be a major breakout star on that side of the ball for Matt House’s defense.

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Report: Neil Farrell Jr to skip the Texas Bowl and prepare for the NFL draft

LSU loses their top-rated defender for the bowl game.

The LSU Tigers defense took a hit on Monday after it was reported that defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr would opt out of the bowl game. Fox Sports analyst and college football insider for The Athletic reported the news on Monday afternoon.

Farrell was a key part of the interior defensive line that showed vast improvement throughout the season despite losing key contributors down the stretch. He appeared in all 12 games for the Tigers with 45 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, two sacks, and two passes defended.

Farrell appeared in a total of 48 games in his five seasons with the Bayou Bengals. That included playing in all 15 games during the 2019 National Championship season under the guidance of defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.

He leaves the team with 143 total tackles, 22 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, four passes defended, and one forced fumble.

This will likely mean that Jaquelin Roy, a sophomore will be tasked with stepping into his spot on the starting rotation. Farrell was the highest-graded defender this season according to Pro Football Focus. If healthy enough to play in the bowl game, freshman Maason Smith could slide inside as well.

The LSU Tigers will play the Kansas State Wildcats in Houston on Jan. 4, as they represent the SEC in the Texas Bowl.

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Handing out 2021 awards for the LSU Tigers

Who were the standouts for the LSU Tigers in 2021?

The 2021 regular season is fully behind the LSU Tigers. They know who the new head coach will be with Brian Kelly and some of the names on the new staff. Before moving forward completely, we look back on the season that was in 2021.

It wasn’t a memorable season given the fact that the team won as many as they lost. Following the Kentucky Wildcats loss, the administration made the decision to move on from Ed Orgeron just 19 months after winning a national championship.

This team was hit with injury after injury, and a mass exodus in the transfer portal by the end of the season. Ending on a positive note before we move on to the recruiting class and next season, we hand out some team awards.

Tiger duo named to the SEC All-Freshman team

Malik Nabers and Maason Smith had big freshman seasons for the LSU Tigers when called upon.

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On Thursday, the Freshman All-SEC team was announced, LSU defensive end Maason Smith and wider receiver Malik Nabers were both named to the team. The league coaches vote on the Freshman All-SEC team.

A five-star recruit coming out of Terrebonne High School, Smith made a significant impact at LSU in his freshman season. Smith started the season as a defensive tackle and then was moved to defensive end. Smith finished the season with 19 tackles, five tackles for a loss, and four sacks. Three of those four sacks came in a game against McNeese State. Smith was having a great season before he got injured and missed the season’s final four games.

Nabers, a four-star recruit, played his high school ball at Southside; he started six out of the ten games he played. Nabers caught four passes for 143 yards and a touchdown against ULM; he had six receptions, his career-best so far in his young career the following week. The Freshman receiver finished the season with 26 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns.

New Head coach Brian Kelly will have some young talent to work with Smith and Nabers on the roster. With two young players like that, LSU’s future could be bright. It’s up to Smith and Nabers to continue to develop so they can be the best players they can be.

Sage Ryan and Maason Smith out for the Texas A&M game

More bad news for the LSU Tigers

An already depleted roster is going to be tested on Saturday night.

On his final radio show, head coach Ed Orgeron stated that standout freshmen Sage Ryan and Maason Smith are out for the season finale. That surely puts a damper on things as the Tigers have a tall task in the final regular-season game of the year and in Orgeron’s tenure. We will soon find out if it is the final game that he will coach for LSU.

The Tigers have been hit time and time again with injuries at both defensive line and cornerback. Andre Anthony and Ali Gaye both suffered season-ending injuries at defensive end which caused Orgeron to move Maason Smith to defensive end. All three will miss the game against the Aggies and put even more pressure on BJ Ojulari and Soni Fonua to perform.

Ryan is another injury for the secondary that lost Derek Stingley Jr and Eli Ricks, with the latter recently entering the transfer portal. Cordale Flott has also been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, now the nickel cornerback Ryan is out. Going to need the next man up to fill the void.

Brian Thomas Jr and Neil Farrell Jr were both missing from the open portion of practice, their status remains up in the air.

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Jack Bech and Maason Smith earn recognition as midseason freshman All-Americans

Despite the number of injuries, LSU has two young studs in the making.

We are currently at the midway point of the college football season with five games remaining for LSU. Due to a plethora of injuries on the team, younger players are getting more opportunities to shine. Specifically, two of the top freshman signed in the 2021 class for the Tigers.

The Athletic released their midseason freshman All-American team (subscription required) with two LSU players getting the nod. Starting on the offensive side, we have an “all-purpose” pick with wide receiver-tight end hybrid Jack Bech.

What The Athletic Says…

(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

This is more of a multi-purpose pick than an all-purpose pick, but Bech is deserving of recognition. The four-star true freshman from Lafayette has been used as both a wide receiver and an in-line tight end, and he is currently the Tigers’ second-leading receiver (24 catches, 292 yards, one TD) behind Kayshon Boutte, who’s now out for the season. Bech and LSU’s talented freshman receiver group are going to keep making noise this year.

Bech is one of the emerging players on offense this season even before the injury to Boutte. However, moving forward they are going to need him to be among the players who raise their game in the final five weeks of the season. He has been a matchup problem for defenders as he is too big for cornerbacks to deal with and too quick for linebackers in coverage.

What about five-star defensive tackle Maason Smith?

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LSU currently leads the nation in sacks and yards lost

When it comes to getting to the quarterback, LSU is among the best in the country.

The LSU Tigers had one area they needed to improve upon after last season. Their defense ranked 39th in the nation with 24 sacks a season ago. Bo Pelini exits and in comes Daronte Jones, the defense has already seen a bump in production when rushing the passer. The team went from 2.4 sacks per game to 5.7 this season through three games.

Their 17 sacks are tied with Marshall for the top spot in the nation. They are the top team in terms of yards lost on sacks with 118. At the top of the individual leaderboard, edge defender BJ Ojulari has 4.5 sacks. Tied with three others but he leads with 35 yards lost on sacks.

For his efforts against the Central Michigan Chippewas, Ojulari was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Pass Rusher Sacks TFLs Pressures QB Hits
Ojulari 4.5 4.5 9 2
Anthony 3.5 4.0 7 0
Smith 3.0 3.5 10 0
Gaye 1.0 1.0 2 0

Maason Smith has really come on strong in the early going and the team is going to rely on him off the edge. After losing Andre Anthony for the season due to a knee injury, it is going to be all hands on deck for this one. Ali Gaye is expected back against Mississippi State, so his return will be huge.

Head coach Ed Orgeron stated they will use a three-man rotation at defensive end with Gaye, Smith, and Ojulari. The trio will get their opportunities as the Bulldogs have allowed a total of 34 pressures through three games. Will Rogers has been sacked six times this season, on average twice a game.

Mississippi State’s offensive line will be tested as they are tasked with slowing down the No. 1 pass rush in the country.

LSU edge defender Andre Anthony done for the season

Per Ed Orgeron, Andre Anthony is done for the season.

During the game against Central Michigan, the LSU Tigers lost one of their top defenders in Andre Anthony. During his weekly press conference, coach Ed Orgeron stated that Anthony is done for the season. It is a devastating blow to the defensive front.

The Tigers will use a three-man rotation of Ali Gaye, BJ Ojulari, and Maason Smith that moved outside due to need. The sixth-year senior will be severely missed upfront. Ojulari will continue to be relied on playing opposite of Gaye for the most part with Smith getting worked in.

Ojulari was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday.

Ojulari is tied with two other defenders for the most sacks in the nation. The move for Maason Smith will be an interesting one, he primarily played on the interior but moved outside and did well against Central Michigan. Orgeron stated that Smith has a chance to be dominant playing on the outside.

This group will be challenged to get to Will Rogers on Saturday when the team travels to Starkville.

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LSU Report Card: Which Tigers graded well, which ones didn’t per PFF

Who were the top-graded players for the LSU Tigers and who didn’t grade well in the 34-7 win over McNeese per Pro Football Focus.

As we wrap up the win over McNeese on Saturday, we take one final look back at the win for the LSU Tigers.

Top Offensive Grades

As far as their Pro Football Focus grades for this game, on offense nothing was spectacular. The team won 34-7 but early on the offense struggled to move the ball consistently against the FCS foe. Only four players on offense were graded in the 70+ range with Jack Bech coming in close to that. The breakdown of the top five players on offense

Player Game Grade Season Grade
Ed Ingram, OG 74.9 66.3
Liam Shanahan, C 73.2 73.1
Max Johnson, QB 72.5 59.3
Deion Smith, WR 71.1 71.1
Jack Bech, TE/WR 69.5 65.6

Bottom Offensive Grades

Player Game Grade Season Grade
Brian Thomas Jr, WR 38.6 49.6
Jaray Jenkins, WR 44.7 49.4
Charles Turner, OT 50.1 52.6
Koy Moore, WR 53.3 61.6
Alex Adams, WR 54.7 54.7

No surprises with Brian Thomas Jr and Jaray Jenkins posting the two bottom grades from this one. Both players dropped a pair of passes each. While the offense was able to score 34, it could have been more if receivers weren’t dropping passes. Something that needs to be fixed ahead of SEC play in a couple of weeks.

The Tigers’ offense needs help in the receiving game from someone other than Trey Palmer and Kayshon Boutte. Who will emerge as a legit No. 3 receiving option for Max Johnson?

Next, a look at the defense

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The good, bad, and the ugly from LSU’s win over McNeese

It wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils for the LSU Tigers on Saturday night in the 27-point victory.

The LSU Tigers responded in the way you would hope coming off the loss to UCLA, by getting the win in their home opener. Head coach Ed Orgeron is 15-1 coming off a loss with the lone loss coming last year against Alabama after losing to Texas A&M the week prior. The Tigers defeated McNeese 34-7 but the win felt more like a loss.

When it comes to playing an FCS team, you either dominate the game or expect a lot of questions to follow. This game served as the first opportunity to address the warts that showed against UCLA. The team couldn’t protect the quarterback or run the ball effectively. They couldn’t stop the big plays down the field or in the running game. Some of those issues were corrected, while others need a magnifying glass as we look under the hood of this team.

Since LSU won their game, we will start with the good from the 27-point win over the Cowboys from nearby Lake Charles, Lousiana.

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