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DT Maason Smith recaps recent UT visit

Maason Smith visited Texas a couple weeks ago and picked up a scholarship offer from the Longhorns.
Maason Smith visited Texas a couple weeks ago and picked up a scholarship offer from the Longhorns. (Rivals.com)

Defensive tackle Maason Smith is still a sophomore in high school but that hasn’t stopped some of college football’s top programs from extending scholarship offers to the Houma (LA) Terrebonne standout. A member of the 2021 class, Smith is close to 20 offers and after a recent visit to the University of Texas, the Longhorns have officially entered the race with a scholarship offer of their own.

According to Smith, he and Texas defensive line coach Oscar Giles have been talking for several months and two weekends ago, Smith and his trainer made his way to Austin to get a first-hand look at the UT program.

“I went to practice, saw everything. I really liked the practice, liked the energy,” Smith said. After practice … we took a tour of the facilities, saw the weight room and met the conditioning coaches. The weight room was the best of all the colleges I’ve been to. I liked it a lot.”

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Smith said he would go on to spend time with Giles and Tom Herman later in the day and Herman made the scholarship offer. He said he “really enjoyed” the visit overall, and Texas is a school he’ll strongly consider.

“From what I’ve seen, Texas is going to be very big in my book,” Smith said. “I like Texas a lot. They have put out a lot of good players over the years. I was very blessed and fortunate to get the offer.”

Smith has had a busy spring of visits. The day prior to his Texas visit, he made a stop by the University of Houston. He also has plans to visit Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia. The in-state LSU Tigers have already offered, so they’ll likely be a major player in this one as well, but Smith said the Longhorns gave him a lot to think about.

“They’re definitely in the top schools since they’ve been trying to get me to go up there, been trying to build a relationship. And seeing everything, I really liked it,” Smith said. “They’re up there. I liked it a lot.”

A 6-4, 290-pound defensive tackle prospect, Smith has offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Virginia, among others. He’s obviously an immensely talented prospect, but Smith said he knows there are areas in which he can still improve.

“This offseason, I’ve been training, working on my footwork and lateral quickness. And attacking the ball … if the quarterback rolls out, I have to be able to catch up with him. I’ve been working on my steps to power me to the outside,” Smith said. “I need to get better conditioned for this year. Some things I bring to the table, I never quit. I’m always upbeat, you’ll never catch me down. And I just love the game. I’m very aggressive off the ball and I believe I can read offenses pretty well. I just love the game.”

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