Honoring One of Its Own: Maason Smith having jersey retired by Terrebonne High
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Now in his fourth season, Terrebonne High football coach Tyler Lewis has tried to bring back elements of the school’s storied past.
The Tigers shared the rugged District 8-5A’s championship for the first time in 14 years, and are off to a 5-2 record and 2-1 showing in district play heading into Friday’s homecoming 7 p.m. matchup with H.L. Bourgeois.
Lewis has played a part in rekindling the school’s athletic Hall of Fame, which had been dormant for several years, and will help the football program unveil its first player to have his jersey retired.
Terrebonne, which opened in 1908, will celebrate the return of former All-America defensive lineman Maason Smith at halftime of Friday’s game with the Braves. The 6-foot-6, 306-pound Smith is in his second season with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
Lewis said the school will present Smith with several gifts and unveil his No. 94 jersey on the scoreboard.
“When Maason first got drafted in the second round, we started thinking if he was the first to get drafted or the highest to get drafted,” said Lewis, noting Smith was the school’s third player to get drafted by the NFL. “When you think about his accolades in high school. … No. 1 player in nation … First team All-American.
“He’s the highest decorated player from this school,” Lewis said. “You give him his flowers now instead of later. And we’ll try and continue to pay homage to those who came before Maason or even after him with retiring jerseys.”
Terrebonne’s setting the bar high with its first recipient to have his jersey retired.
Smith, who turned 25 on Oct. 13, was born in Houma and graduated from Terrebonne High in 2021. During his senior season, he recorded 63 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 24 quarterback hurries, and 9 sacks.
Smith was the state’s top-rated prospect and the nation’s No. 1 defensive lineman by Rivals.com and consensus five-star recruit before opting to sign with LSU.
The first team All-American, the nation’s No. 18 overall prospect, finished his high school career with more than 200 tackles, 60 TFLs, and 26 sacks. The Tigers were 11-2 and reached the Class 5A state quarterfinals in 2018, and were 26-16 during his career.
Success followed Smith to Baton Rouge, where he started in four of nine games his first season. He earned Freshman All-America honors and was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team with 19 tackles and 5 TFLs.
He dealt with adversity during the first game of his sophomore season, suffering a torn ACL against Florida State, which cost him the entire season.
Smith remained engaged in all team activities, even supplying help to younger defensive linemen, until returning in 2023. He made 12 starts and registered 28 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks.
Instead of returning to LSU, Smith opted for the NFL Draft with two years of eligibility remaining and was rewarded by Jacksonville which landed him with the 48th overall selection in the second round.
Smith became the third player to ever from Terrebonne to ever become an NFL Draft choice and the first in 36 years.
Terrebonne’s first player to gain such distinction was running back Earl Gros, who played for Paul Dietzel at LSU, when he was drafted in the 14th round by the Green Bay Packers in 1962 and spent a total of five seasons in the NFL with the Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also taken in the second round of the AFL Draft (15th overall) by the Houston Oilers but wound up signing with the Packers and played professionally in 108 games, rushing for 3,157 yards and 28 TDs and caught 142 passes for 1,255 yards and 10 scores.
The second member of that exclusive list has ties to this year’s current Terrebonne High team. Defensive tackle Johnny Carter, a former Grambling State standout and grandfather of senior running back Quincy Adams, was a 12th-round choice of the Denver Broncos in 1988.
“It creates a standard,” Lewis said. “The kids are like, ‘I’m going to be that guy one day, I want my jersey retired. I want to be an All-American. I want to go to LSU. I want to be drafted by the NFL.’ It’s something the kids can look up to.”
Smith had 17 tackles with three sacks in 11 games during his rookie season in Jacksonville, before moving into a bigger role this season. He’s picked up six tackles and a pass deflection in seven games for the Jaguars (4-3 and second in the AFC South), who travel next week to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“The kids know who he is,” Lewis said of Smith, who wears No. 94 for Jacksonville. “He’s spent time here in the offseason and comes to work out with the team. He’s a big supporter of Terrebonne High and loves this school. When he got drafted, I spoke to him and offered congratulations and told him to enjoy the moment.
“We spoke at Kyren Lacy’s funeral (April 26), and I told him I wanted to retire his jersey, I wanted to get approval to get it done, and he was ecstatic,” Lewis said. “He said he felt honored. I knew we had to do something special for him. There’s not a lot of people that can say they accomplished that.”
Lewis believes Smith’s been a shining light for the Houma area and Terrebonne High and will remain an example for those attempting to follow in his footsteps.
“It can happen to anybody that works hard in Houma, Louisiana,” he said. “We’re in a small area, and a lot of the time we don’t have a lot of media coverage, and a lot of college scouts don’t come in this area. It gives the kids hope, but it also shines a light on Terrebonne High School and the rich history and the tradition here.”