2024 NFL Draft: LSU DT Maason Smith sees selection in 'late Round 1' as possibility

LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith grappled with his decision, nearly taking it right down to the deadline for underclassmen to apply for special eligibility in the 2024 NFL Draft. If he was going to return for one final season in Baton Rouge, everything had to be right -- unlike how much of his Tigers career had proceeded to that point.

Smith never really, truly had his year in college. And people in his orbit were suggesting what might be possible if he came back.

The 6-foot-5, 306-pounder opened eyes as a freshman in 2021, notching four sacks in nine games (four starts), and by the beginning of the 2022 season, he was viewed as a potential All-SEC candidate. But after LSU's seventh defensive play from scrimmage in that year's opener against Florida State, Smith leapt in the air to celebrate a teammate's tackle for loss -- and doubled over in pain upon landing. Smith had torn his ACL, and his season was over.

"Seven plays in, man," Smith said by phone recently. "It was my first time taking a step back from football since I was 6 years old. It created some mental conflict for me."

Smith's return to the field in 2023 was pushed back one game, thanks to a suspension, reportedly given to him by the NCAA for taking part in an autograph session before NIL rules were enacted (for his part, Smith blamed his decision on a "lack of knowledge" about the situation in comments to the media last September). Even beyond the missed game though, things remained unsettled around Smith and LSU.

First, there were the lingering effects of his injury recovery, which hindered Smith's explosiveness and lateral-cutting ability. Then, September losses to FSU and Ole Miss all but removed the Tigers from the national title race, in spite of an electric