On just the first defensive drive of the Brian Kelly era, tragedy struck LSU football.
After his disruption of a play led to a nice, open-field tackle by safety Major Burns, star defensive tackle Maason Smith responded by leaping in the air in celebration. He came down awkwardly, falling to the ground and eventually being helped off the field by two trainers.
Based on how he looked exiting the game, his emotions when back on the sideline and prior injuries of a similar nature, the verdict on whether he would be okay was grim. Come Monday, the tension was validated; LSU’s best defensive player had torn his ACL and was out for the season.
When the news broke, fans wondered how this would impact the team. People often hear “best player out for season” and think it’s the end, and while there is no replacing a player as dynamic as Smith, that simply isn’t the case.
The Tigers still have four uninjured players on their defensive line that have proven themselves to be effective at the SEC level: BJ Ojulari, Ali Gaye, Jaquelin Roy and Mekhi Wingo.
Coming out of De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Missouri, Wingo was a three-star recruit in the class of 2021 and the No. 8 overall prospect in the state of Missouri according to 247sports. He decided to stay home for college, choosing Missouri over the likes of Arkansas, Iowa State and West Virginia.
He didn’t expect to go there initially, not because he wanted to go elsewhere, but because he didn’t believe he had what it took to play Division I football. It took some convincing from Robert Steeples, former De Smet head coach and current LSU cornerbacks coach, but he would eventually shake off that notion in a big way.
“He told me, ‘I believe you can be a starter at a big Division I school one day,’” Wingo told The Athletic when discussing Steeples. “That’s when I knew he really believed in me.”
Not only did he commit to a Division I college, but he also committed to a FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) team in the sport’s best conference.
It took him a while to log his first start, but he played a vital role in the line’s rotation, similar to what was expected from him at LSU this season. He finally logged that first start in an October game against North Texas, making his former coach’s words a reality. And something magical would happen there.
Big-man touchdown.
With the Mean Green driving down field and looking to narrow Missouri’s 20-point lead, Trajan Jeffcoat deflected a pass from North Texas quarterback Austin Aune, which landed right into the hands of Wingo. He trudged 40 yards down the field for the score.
“I always say I’m a running back at heart, and that was my chance,” he said to the press after the game.
He finished his freshman season with 27 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, an interception and a touchdown, garnering SEC All-Freshman honors with his impact. But despite being well within the rotation of a bowl-eligible team in the SEC, something about Missouri’s coaching situation made him uneasy.
In an interview with KMOV in Missouri, he talked about the constant rotation of defensive line coaches, which had totaled three since they started recruiting him, along with the defensive coordinator that recruited him getting fired as well.
“I’m just looking for a place with a little more stability,” Wingo stated. “It was just hard trying to rebuild relationships and learn new coaches.”
Just two weeks after setting his career high for tackles against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl, Wingo entered his name into the transfer portal before finding himself in an interested predicament: he had unlimited options. He was now considered a four-star transfer prospect by 247sports, and many prestigious teams wanted him, including Oklahoma, University of Southern California, Oklahoma State and of course, LSU.
Another two weeks passed before he decided to join LSU, listing its facilities, coaching staff and players as some of his reasons.
“When I took my visit, it was just a welcoming feel from the players,” Wingo said regarding his visit with the team. “They didn’t really know me, but they embraced me when I came in and we clicked instantly.”
When discussing the LSU coaching staff, he cited them as fair and consistent with their approach.
“Just treat everybody fairly, that’s the biggest thing,” Wingo said about the staff. “If you coach one way and you coach everybody that way, everybody is going to gravitate towards you as a coach because we respect what you’re saying.”
He was immediately projected as one of the primary backups on the line behind Maason Smith and Jaquelin Roy, maintaining that projection right up until the start of the season. Not only did he prove himself effective throughout the spring and summer, he also improved considerably, becoming an all-down lineman after starting his career in more of a third-down role.
“Coming in, I was thrown out there quick and was just playing honestly,” Wingo said on the beginning of his college career. “But since I’ve come here, they’ve really developed me as a run stopper. I’ve become more of an every-down defensive lineman than just a third-down one.”
When it came time for him to take on a larger role with Smith out indefinitely, the Missouri native proved he was more than up for the task, finishing the game as the Tigers’ third leading tackler with six and surpassing his career high in solo tackles. He also recovered the fumble that gave LSU new life late in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t know why they would do that in a goal line situation,” Wingo laughed when discussing Florida State’s decision to toss the ball. “We practice that play every day in practice.”
Wingo was featured heavily against the Seminoles, going from a projected number of about 30 snaps to 61 snaps after Smith exited the game. It’s expected that will continue at least for now, with Jacobian Guillory and some of the freshmen likely getting snaps as well.
“You’ve got to have that ‘next man up’ mentality,” Wingo said on the situation. “It was very unfortunate how it happened, but we train all year for these situations, and you’ve got to be prepared when your name is called on and get the job done.”
While there’s no replacing Smith, the LSU coaching staff is surely happy to have someone that can effectively step into his role. Head coach Brian Kelly discussed what he brings to the table on Tuesday, describing him as active, effective and a great leader.
“It’s hard to compare anybody to Maason Smith, his size, his athleticism,” Kelly said. “But Mekhi Wingo is going to be Mekhi Wingo and what he does is extremely effective as a football player, and now he obviously gets a bigger share of that work.”
We’ll have to wait and see if he can handle the heightened role throughout the season but for now, expect LSU’s defensive line to survive the devastating blow.
