Brian Kelly reveals Maason Smith limited in fall camp due to injury

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•08/16/23
Shea Dixon on the Fight at LSU Practice

One of LSU‘s biggest stars is dealing with injuries in training camp, with coach Brian Kelly noting that defensive tackle Maason Smith has had to take it slow because he’s “banged up a little bit” and dealing with a sprained ankle.

Smith missed almost the entire 2022 season after suffering a torn ACL in the season opener against Florida State.

“He’s been banged up a little bit,” Kelly said. “Nothing that, you know, I don’t think we’re overly concerned with, there’s no structural damage to any joints or things of that nature. But look, he’s been out for a year. Everything hurts a little bit more after coming back into it.”

Smith was a freshman All-American and a freshman All-SEC selection in 2021.

He logged 19 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss and 4.0 sacks as a freshman, showing he could handle the rigors of the SEC with aplomb. The hope was that he would continue to emerge in 2022, but the injury prevented that.

In getting him back up to speed fully, LSU is going to take things slowly.

“We’ve got to be careful with him,” Kelly said. “But, again, I think (head athletic trainer) Owen Stanley and Maason have a really good relationship in terms of what can I do and what I can’t do. He had an ankle sprain, nothing that we were really too concerned with. But we’re concerned with everything when you have a player of his caliber. So we’re going to be careful with him.”

LSU without another highly touted player

In addition to the Maason Smith injury limiting him, LSU is also without another highly touted player at the moment.

Cornerback Denver Harris, a former five-star prospect, has stepped away from the team to handle personal matters, Kelly confirmed on Wednesday. He was a transfer from Texas A&M.

“Obviously we did a lot of research,” Kelly said regarding Harris. “This was not a decision where we just said ‘Hey, here’s a great player.’ He had to fit. We felt like we did our due diligence in terms of his background.

“There’s an affiliation with LSU here with his family. He had a lot of people speak on his behalf. He had a number of interviews with (LSU defensive coordinator Matt House) and myself. Ultimately, the decision to take Harris came down to fit.”

LSU will open its season on Sept. 3 against Florida State.