By: Michael Higgins

School: LSU

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

Position: DT

HT: 6’6

WT: 315 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #39

Background: Maason Smith was a consensus 5-star recruit in high school and was the second ranked defensive tackle in his class. Smith is originally from Houma, Louisiana and attended Terrebonne High School. Throughout his high school career, Smith had over 200 tackles and 26 sacks. He was a truly dominant presence for the entirety of his high school career. Out of high school, Smith had a large variety of offers and could basically attend any school that he wanted to. Maason Smith ultimately chose the LSU Tigers over Alabama, Ole Miss, and Miami.

College: Smith immediately saw action on the defensive line as a freshman. He started four of the nine games he played in the 2021 season and was selected to the Freshman All-America team. He put up great pass rushing statistics for an interior defensive lineman as a true freshman. His sophomore season was cut down to less than one half of a game due to suffering a season-ending injury in the opener against Florida State. Due to only having one year of game experience, he was still extremely raw and poised for a breakout season with a lot of development. Smith came back and put the injury concerns to bed in 2023 after starting all 12 games for the Tigers. He will go into the pre-draft process with less experience than other players but a much higher ceiling.

Strengths: Maason Smith is a powerful interior lineman who is tough to keep at bay. He is able to explode out of that 4-point stance and use his strength to launch his hands into his opponents’ pads. He rarely lets offensive linemen gain any type of leverage in the phone booth. He is one of the best run defenders in the country as he fills gaps and does not give the ball carrier anywhere to go between the tackles. He plays with a certain energy and motor that is noticeable at the interior of the defensive line. Smith is a big guy but he is still able to get under the pads of linemen. Due to his raw power, he has a large success rate in terms of winning the battle at the point of attack. Smith is quick on his feet and moves well in any direction.

Weaknesses: Smith shows a lot of room for improvement as a pass rusher. He rarely generates any real pressure on the quarterback. While it is not necessarily his job, he still is more of a run defender. He consistently stays low in his stance, but due to his size he occasionally slips up and gets too high up, almost putting his hands above the shoulders of offensive linemen. He gets too involved with beating his matchup at the line of scrimmage, which can take him away from the play.

Conclusion: Maason Smith can be a solid contributor in a defensive line rotation. He can demand a heavy workload as he is an effective run stuffer. If he can refine his skills as a pass rusher, he will work into a player that can reach 70% of defensive snaps.

Scheme Fit: 4-3

Ideal Role: 3-tech

Best Team Fits: DEN, SEA, LAC

Player Comparison: Christian Barmore

Player Grade: 84.5