<a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/lsu-tigers/">LSU</a> defensive lineman <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/maason-smith-81115/">Maason Smith</a> is declaring for 2024 NFL Draft, he announced. The former top-ranked prospect in Louisiana is leaving Baton Rouge after three seasons with the Tigers.



In 2023, he notched 28 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two pass breakups in 12 games. Smith returned from a season-ending injury a year prior to play in a career-high number of games for LSU.



He tore his ACL early in the 2022 season opener against Florida State, missing the whole season. Before the 2023 season, he was slotted to multiple mock drafts to land in the 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft.



After his injury on the first series of the 2022 season, then coming back and tweaking his ankle in fall camp, Smith worked hard this season to recover. He played some of his best football this season down the stretch for the Tigers.



“There have been ups and downs, but the last couple of weeks I’ve been steadily getting better,” Smith said. “For me it was just getting back to who I am and who I know I can be. It was just getting the rust off and now with coach Jenkins teaching me good technique and how to act and think right it will go a long way for me. I’m comfortable to know I’m prepared now.”



Smith was a 2021 Freshman All-American. He racked up 19 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss and 4.0 sacks in nine games played. 



The former Houma (La.) Terrebonne High star was a five-star prospect in the class of 2021. According to the <a href="https://www.on3.com/news/on3-industry-ratings-rankings/">On3 Industry Ranking</a>, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Smith was the No. 11 overall prospect in the country, No. 4 defensive tackle in America and No. 1 prospect in Louisiana.

lsu-dl-maason-smith-makes-decision-nfl-draft-future

The Bengal Tiger Football

The Bengal Tiger

LSU DL Maason Smith makes decision on future

team image

Southeastern Conference

Organization Logo

The Ponderosa

News

Lobby

Forums

News Feed

Roster

Schedule

Transfer Portal Ranking

Transfer Portal

LSU Draft History

[site-team] Draft History

Football

Search

Commitments

Transfers

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Offers

Visits

Recruiting Prediction Machine

FB Recruiting

Basketball

BB Recruiting

About

Staff

The Bengal Tiger On3+ Subscription

[site-name] On3+ Subscription

Contact

Podcasts and Shows

Team Store

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Message Boards

Rivals300 {{ hot }}

MegaBoard

Team Recruiting Rankings

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Aliou Bah is a pivotal piece for LSU

A key OL addition

WR Corey Barber rises to five-star status

LSU's new 5-Star

Jada Richard has been superb for LSU WBB

Mulkey's star PG

LSU's former QB1 looks ahead

Nussmeier's draft stock

The key signings for Kiffin

2026 recruiting battles

Dives into Alabama rivalry

Alex Golesh

Calls out coaches for Bediako

Jay Bilas

Hard part now begins

Lane Kiffin

New judge link to Alabama hoops

Charles Bediako

10 teams that won the portal

Transfer Portal Winners