WATCH: LSU star Maason Smith exits game with injury after celebration
The LSU Tigers saw an early injury to one of their best defenders, Maason Smith, as he went down with an injury on their first defensive series of the game. Adding insult to the injury — it appeared to be a result of Smith celebrating a defensive play he made.
Maason Smith suffers self-inflicted injury
Smith jumped into the air while celebrating a big stop on second down, and landed awkwardly on his left leg. He was visibly hobbled after the landing and eventually went down to the ground on the field. During an injury timeout, Smith was taken to the injury tent and his status for the remainder of the game was uncertain.
While self-inflicted injuries are always tough to swallow, Smith’s celebration wasn’t particularly dangerous as he only jumped in the air. The injury came directly after one of the biggest defensive plays of the night — ultimately leading to a missed Florida State field goal.
CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel
Shortly afterwards, Smith left the injury tent and was visibly upset — walking into the locker rooms under his own power. As of the end of the first quarter, it was unclear exactly what his injury was or how severe LSU felt it was.
During the first quarter, ESPN’s Katie George provided a grim update on Smith’s status.
“After spending some time in the medical tent, Mason Smith unfortunately came out and looked visibly upset,” George said. “He gingerly walked himself to the locker room and is now being evaluated.”
Shortly after Smith came out of the game, fellow defender BJ Ojulari also went down with injury but was able to jog off the field. George also provided an update on Ojulari’s status moving forward.
“BJ Ojulari then entered the tent after (Smith) left it,” George said. “He luckily came out and had that left knee taped up. Gave a thumbs up and he’s good to go.”