Brian Kelly: LSU football DL Maason Smith will be a non-contact participant this spring
BATON ROUGE ― LSU football defensive lineman Maason Smith will be a non-contact participant during spring practices, coach Brian Kelly told ESPN on Monday.
"Getting him back defensively will be a big, big plus for us," Kelly said.
Smith tore his ACL during the first series of the year against Florida State on Sept. 3 while celebrating a tackle by a teammate.
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His absence left a defensive line already short on bodies even less deep, and LSU had to rely heavily on Missouri transfer Mekhi Wingo and Jaquelin Roy for the rest of the season.
As a freshman in 2021, Smith had 19 total tackles and four sacks in seven games. He was a five-star recruit in the 2021 class and the No. 20 player in the nation out of Terrebonne High School in Houma, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Smith's pending return, combined with the additions of Jalen Lee (Florida), Jordan Jefferson (West Virginia) and Paris Shand (Arizona) from the transfer portal, should make the interior of the Tigers' defensive line much deeper in 2023.
LSU begins its spring practice schedule on Thursday.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football: Maason Smith non-contact participant in spring practice
