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Brian Kelly says LSU’s ‘crushed’ over Maason Smith injury, explains plan at D-line
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LSU coach Brian Kelly confirmed Tuesday during his weekly press conference that defensive tackle Maason Smith would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.
Smith appeared to injure himself during Florida State’s opening drive Sunday evening at the Superdome. He would later be seen on the sidelines in his street clothes on crutches.
“We’re crushed for him because he was celebrating for a teammate on the play and trying to show his support,” Kelly said. “So anytime you suffer an injury under those circumstances, it’s extremely disappointing. He’s a great player… but it’s next man up now for us.”
The next man up? Mizzou transfer Mekhi Wingo, who was credited with 6 tackles in the Tigers’ 24-23 loss to the Seminoles. Wingo also recovered a fumble against FSU running back Treshaun Ward at the goal line, halting the Seminoles’ chances of extending their lead with less than 2 minutes remaining.
“Mekhi is amazing, he’s been a great leader, he won this week’s SWAT points again and he played very well in the game,” Kelly said. “It’s hard to compare anybody to Maason Smith, his size, his athleticism, but Mekhi Wingo is going to be Mekhi Wingo and what he does is extremely effective as a football player who gets now a bigger share of that work.”
Other LSU defensive linemen expected to replace Smith’s production include Jaquelin Roy, Jacobian Guillory, and Saivion Jones. Roy finished with 3 tackles Sunday while Guillory recorded just 1 takedown. Jones, a hybrid defender that has taken reps at both defensive end and defensive tackle, did not record a stat.
LSU returns to Tiger Stadium for its home opener against Southern on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Football who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.
