Six-years old. That's how old Maason Smith was when he started playing recreational league football down in Houma. In the 15 years since, he's never gone this long without the game. Thursday marks one year and three days since he suffered a freakish season-ending ACL tear in the first quarter against Florida State on Sept. 4, 2022. A completely insensitive NCAA suspension kept him out of this year's Florida State game as well. But now, Smith is ready go. More than ready. Tensed up like a coiled spring ready. "I don't have words to explain how I feel," Smith told reporters Wednesday. "I'm ready to go out there and erupt." Words I'm sure LSU coach Brian Kelly is happy to hear, though he wants Smith's return Saturday in Tiger Stadium against Grambling (6:30 p.m., SECNetwork+) to be a controlled eruption. Kelly has a plan, a pitch count if you will, of how many snaps he'd like to get out of the star defensive tackle in his first live action in over a year. For being in the middle of football season as we are, there was a sudden burst of women's basketball news Wednesday. Some very big news. Through a public records request, our Reed Darcey obtained the term sheet for a new contract for coach Kim Mulkey, a deal that would be the most lucrative in women's college basketball. We've got all the details right here. Also, the SEC released the women's conference schedule Wednesday. Big missed opportunity with the South Carolina game at LSU slated for Thursday, Jan. 25. What was wrong with the TV ratings generated when the two high-flying programs met on Super Bowl Sunday this year? Also, the women's program has a new and interesting deal with a trendy Nike brand. Back to football, where yours truly has a column addressing some of the many questions coming out of LSU's 45-24 loss Sunday to Florida State in Orlando. Important news for you tailgaters, and probably updated news from what you first heard. The state-wide burn ban isn't going to prohibit outdoor cooking on campus Saturday, but there are some restrictions in place. We've got all the details for you right here. And lastly, we've got our biggest disappointments for LSU coming out of the Florida State game. Wow, that's our longest LSU newsletter rundown in awhile. But there's always more where that came from, so check us out tomorrow. Until next time, Scott Rabalais |