LSU and Florida State are squaring off in New Orleans in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday night, and one of the Tigers’ most important defenders suffered a potentially serious injury on LSU’s first defensive drive of the game.
Maason Smith, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive lineman from Terrebonne High School in Houma, Louisiana, injured his knee while celebrating a stop on second-and-7 from the 26-yard line. Defensive back Major Burns made the stop on Lawrence Toafili, and while Smith jumped to celebrate the play, his knee immediately buckled and he went down to the turf.
You can have a look at the incident below.
Smith spent about five minutes in the injury tent and then left the field under his own power. He went into the locker room underneath the stands of the Superdome and has not returned. He came out of the locker room with the rest of the team after halftime but was wearing street clothes. No update on his specific condition has been released by the school.
Smith is a key piece of a Tigers defensive line that is the strength of its defense. His presence in the middle of the line allows its speed rushers outside, including BJ Ojulari, to do damage in the backfield. Ojulari also went out with a knee injury on the opening drive, but he remained on the sideline.
