Brian Kelly reveals Mekhi Wingo will replace injured Maason Smith in starting role

LSU head coach Brian Kelly revealed on Thursday night that Mekhi Wingo will replace Maason Smith in the starting role along the Tigers’ defensive line, according to BengalTiger’s Shea Dixon. Kelly confirmed that Smith suffered a torn ACL against Florida State earlier in the week, after an MRI confirmed their star defensive tackle was done for the season. Wingo came to LSU via the transfer portal from the Missouri Tigers. He was a freshman All-SEC selection for Missouri a year ago after he racked up 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack.

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Kelly discussed Wingo replacing Smith in Thursday’s press conference and fielded a question from a reporter about how confident he was in his team’s defense heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Southern Jaguars. “I’m very confident. Look, Maason Smith is an outstanding football player. I wish we had Maason Smith but we don’t. Unfortunate injury, but you know, we’ve moved past that. And now we’ve got Mekhi starting in his place. And we’re gonna have to have other guys step up as well,” Kelly said.

“And that’s just the nature of football, whether it’s high school, college, or the NFL. You’re gonna have injuries and they’re gonna challenge your depth. This one’s gonna challenge our depth, but we’re excited for the guys to get an opportunity to come in and play,” the LSU head coach said.

Smith left the game against FSU during their first defensive series after jumping in the air and landing awkwardly on his left leg. He did not return to the game. Smith was seen on crutches on the sideline in the second half in tears, and head coach Brian Kelly explained following the game that he would require an MRI.

With Smith going down, who will be Mekhi Wingo’s backup?

Kelly also discussed who will slide into the backup role behind Wingo in Thursday night’s press conference. “Tygee [Hill] will get some playing time there, certainly. And you know, we’re thin, quite frankly, at the position. So, you know, we’re gonna have to be creative. We might see some other fronts that give us a little bit more versatility, instead of just four down all the time. Just to give us a little bit more of a rotation than being in four down as much,” the Tigers head coach said. According to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2022 cycle, Tygee Hill was rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 60 defensive lineman in America coming out of Edna Karr High School (New Orleans, Louisiana).

On3’s Austin Brezina also contributed to this article.