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Jacksonville grabs LSU's Maason Smith early in the 2nd Round

On3 imageby: Shea Dixon04/27/24sheadixon
LSU DT Maason Smith (Photo: Getty Images)
LSU DT Maason Smith (Photo: Getty Images)

LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith‘s name was called early in the second round on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected the Louisiana native with the No. 48 overall pick.

Smith chose to forgo a fourth season at LSU and enter the draft in January, a decision that didn’t come easy following an up-and-down stretch in Baton Rouge for the former 5-star prospect. Now, the decision has paid off as Smith comes off the board in the Top 50.

The Jaguars drafted LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. with in the first round on Thursday.

In total, Smith’s three seasons at LSU led to 22 games played and 17 starts, totaling 47 career tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks.

Smith, who signed with LSU as the top-ranked prospect in Louisiana’s 2021 class, saw immediate playing time as a true freshman. He appeared in nine games and made four starts during the 2021 season, and Smith made five tackles and was in on a tackle for loss in his first career start (vs. Kentucky).

By year’s end, the LSU freshman was named to the 2021 Freshman All-SEC team and the FWAA Freshman All-American team.

Smith entered his sophomore season as one of college football’s rising stars, but following the opening series in the opening game against Florida State, Smith’s celebration of a third down stop by the defense led to a season-ending knee injury.

Smith returned to the field this past season and started 12 games on the defensive line. While he missed the season-opener vs. Florida State, Smith returned to action for the first time since his knee injury in a Week 2 matchup with Grambling. Among the season’s highlights were a fourth-quarter sack to force a punt from Missouri, a game the Tigers would go on to win on the road with a late-game comeback. He also had a sack in the third quarter fo the ReliaQuest Bowl that forced Wisconsin to punt, and the Tigers scored on the next drive to tie the game at 28-28.

Smith was one of America’s brightest stars coming out of high school at Terrebonne High in Houma (La.), checking in as an On3 Industry 5-star prospect. As a senior, Smith had 63 tackles, a head-turning 24 tackles for loss, nine sacks and 22 quarterback hurries. As a sophomore and junior, Smith stacked up college offers from coast-to-coast when he used the two seasons to combine for 141 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 11 passes batted down.

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