A young Mason Smith, already a big LSU fan as a child, tagged along for a game-day visit to the home-state university early in Peyton “Pop” Houston‘s recruiting process.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels found tight end Mason Taylor for a two-point conversion, a walk-off upset of Alabama in overtime and a memory two north Louisiana kids — like much of the state — will likely never forget.
Fast-forward more than three and a half years.
And Houston is the Tigers’ 2027 quarterback commit heading into his senior season this fall at Evangel Christian, and now Smith is a 2030 target with a newly received offer before his upcoming freshman year at North DeSoto.
“It feels amazing,” Smith said after receiving an LSU offer Thursday following a strong performance at the program’s latest recruiting camp. “Being from Louisiana, it’s kind of like a dream come true. As a kid, you kind of dream about that. You always grow up watching, and I was kind of raised around LSU with my family so it’s like built in me to be around LSU.
“It really started when I was just a kid. I always had kind of an obsession with LSU. My uncle, he kinda blew me up with LSU, and I really went with it, but I also understood it. And then having a connection with Pop and his dad, they brought me on a visit when I was 8 or 9 or something like that. And it just always felt like a really good place to be.”
Ole Miss offered Smith last summer when coach Lane Kiffin, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens were still in Oxford, Miss.
And largely the same offensive staff made the same move Thursday after the young passer finished zipping darts to receivers all over the field.
“I feel like for any kid it would be a surprise (to receive offers so early), but I feel like I work for it and I know that I’ve earned it, and I’m not gonna get complacent either,” Smith said. “I’m always gonna stay humble. I always feel like there’s more work to do. But I also know that I’ve worked for this and I’ve worked to be in this position since I was 6 years old, being out there throwing a football with my dad when I was just a kid and working little simple drills to build up to huge, game-like dynamic drills.
“I always felt like I was built for it. I didn’t think that it would come this soon, but I knew that I would be something for sure.”
Smith’s confidence, poise, arm strength and accuracy were all on display Thursday.
He referenced his comfort reading coverages as a strong suit of his game, an aspect that similarly set Houston apart from his peers at the same timeline in his development.
The 6-foot, 154-pound athlete said priorities this offseason include continuing to hammer on his technique, as well as working to get stronger to prepare for varsity football right out the gate as a freshman.
“As far as work prioritizing right now, just keep working on my pocket presence and my footwork,” he said. “I feel like I can definitely work on that a lot. And getting bigger as well. I’ve gained 10 pounds since the start of spring. I’m trying to be as big as I can right now because I’ve gotta get ready for varsity football because I’m starting, so I’ll have to be ready for that.”
Smith’s mindset echoes Houston’s consistent “Job’s Not Finished” mantra echoing former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
The attitude, confidence and relentless work ethic are attributes he said he’s learned as much as any from Houston.
“Him and coach Houston, ever since I’ve trained with them, their advice and mentality that they were trying their best to build into me was just when you get out on the field, it’s really a mindset of you have to go kill whatever’s in front of you. Even if they’re bigger than you. I was playing 10U when I was just 8. I’ve always played against bigger kids since I was a child, so it’s always like it doesn’t matter who you’re on the field with. You’ve just got to go in thinking that they can’t do nothin’ with you. You have to have a dog mentality. Especially in Louisiana, you have to have that mentality.”