I wish to return back to LSU Tiger once again..

“I’m ready to explode”: Maason Smith, a defensive tackle for LSU, is excited for Saturday’s home opener after a year away from the field.

A year and two days had passed. Maason Smith, a defensive tackle for LSU, had been keeping track of the score and was aware of it.

That is how long Smith waited to speak with reporters after practice on Wednesday in order to get ready for Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. home opener against Grambling State, after he tore his ACL in the 2022 opener against Florida State.

About his knee, Smith remarked, “It feels fine.”

Seven plays into his sophomore season at the Superdome, Smith hobbled off the field. He was merrily applauding a tackle made by teammate Major Burns when he collapsed to the ground due to knee pain.

In the worst-case scenario, the massive 6-foot-6, 315-pound Smith was forced to miss the entire season of play. Although the Tigers were enjoying a 10-4 season and a Citrus Bowl victory over Purdue under head coach Brian Kelly, Smith was working hard behind the scenes on his recovery.

When Smith suffered another injury that kept him off the field for the second time this season, the plan was to start in the starting lineup for LSU’s season opener against Florida State in Orlando.

When the NCAA discovered in July of last year that the Houma native had gotten an improper benefit from an autograph signing prior to the NIL era, he was suspended for one game.

Smith stated on Wednesday, “I didn’t really know too much about the whole NIL space.” When I first started school, there was a lot of talk about how NIL was going to disappear on January 1st and February 1st. They kept stating that it was supposed to launch for months on end. Despite my lack of knowledge, I decided to sign it after consulting with a few of my former teammates. In retrospect, I realize how little I actually knew about that. When I did it, that was not my thought process. I was considering it to be good. In retrospect, I wish I had known more about the NIL space.

Shortly after Smith’s autograph session, the realm of name, image, and likeness—which has for the first time financially benefited student athletes—was established. The NCAA refused to give up, and even though LSU had thought of moving up Grambling to a Week 0 game so that Smith could play against Florida State and serve his suspension, he was a spectator in the Seminoles’ 45-24 loss last week.

A few weeks prior to the FSU game, Smith, who assisted the NCAA in its investigation, was informed of his fate. If he hadn’t been hurt, he would have completed the suspension at some point during the previous campaign.

Regarding FSU, he remarked, “I was so focused on playing them, getting the game against them, and getting my revenge with them.” It’s been a possibility for a while, but I wasn’t particularly concerned about it.

Smith admitted, “I wasn’t happy.” But in the end, I firmly think that God exists and that faith exists. I just let him handle everything that was bothering me. In the final year of my life, I experienced a great deal of hardship. I’ve always trusted him, and there’s a reason why God didn’t want me to participate in that game. I can only believe and abide by that. I try to keep it out of my mind.

Running onto the field at Camping World Stadium to take on FSU served as part of the inspiration for Smith’s drive during his rehabilitation process. Even though he was there for the team in spirit the previous year, nothing could ever quite make up for the loss of having him play with his teammates and miss the entire season.

Smith stated, “Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play them last year. I had visions of playing against the Florida States, I had visions of playing against Alabama, all these teams.” “I had visions of me dominating and doing my thing, knowing what I had going on and how I was playing. Simply having fun with the game.

Smith was cleared to participate in any football-related activities this summer after missing the entire spring. He was excited to get back to his former dominant style, which had earned him the title of nation’s top defensive lineman coming out of Terrebonne High School, when he showed up for fall practice on August 3.

Smith’s selection to the preseason All-SEC first team defensive line was indicative of the respect that was given to his talent. In 2024, he is expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft as a player with 19 tackles in 10 career games.

He remarked, “I’ve thought about it for a whole year.” “I have no words to express how happy I am to be playing the game again. I’m exhausted from waiting so long. I’m prepared to burst into that situation.

Smith had an ankle injury during practice that prevented him from participating in the team’s first significant scrimmage and cast doubt on his availability for the team’s opening game, even before the NCAA made its announcement.

The NCAA then removed all uncertainty by dropping its hammer.

Kelly stated that he would set a 30-play limit for Smith in the game, but he was thrilled to have Smith back for the team’s home opener during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference.

Kelly stated, “I think we have to be realistic and acknowledge that he won’t be able to play the entire game when he hasn’t played in over a year.” We are searching, and we would be overjoyed to obtain close to thirty pictures. It’s going to take a little while, but he’s practicing for us. We’re hoping to get him to produce a few quality snaps in that range so he can have an effect on the game.

Smith reported that he has fully recovered his knee’s range of motion and that he has used practice to hone his timing so that he can make snap decisions when it comes to tracking down a ball carrier or rushing the passer.

Kelly’s suggestion that he try to lighten his workload in his first game back since September 4, 2022 made him smile.

He remarked, “We’ll just have to see how everything goes.” “They don’t want to put me out there for 50–60 snaps; they just want to make my workload as normal as possible.” .. Just moving forward. I can move on to the next few weeks and give the other guys some playing time when we play a game like Grambling. My to-do list will grow longer as time goes on.

“I wish I could play the entire game. For a defensive lineman in a game, 50 snaps is a lot, Smith continued. Thirty’s about where I’ll feel at ease. All I’m doing is attempting to resume it.