Tag: Mac Markway

LSU tight end Connor Gilbreath enters transfer portal

Connor Gilbreath appeared in 13 games for the Tigers last fall, but he did not make any receptions.

For the 2023 recruiting class last season, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his recruiting staff picked up a commitment from a big tight end out of Butte College by the name of [autotag]Connor Gilbreath[/autotag].

Gilbreath is a 6-foot-5, 265-pound tight end who came to LSU with the tools to have a lot of playing time. He got exactly what he wished for as he appeared in 13 games for the Tigers last fall but he did not make any receptions. He was mainly used in short-yardage blocking situations.

Now, Gilbreath has decided to move on to greener pastures.

He has entered his name into the transfer portal for 2024. LSU has a few good tight ends still on the team starting with [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] who served as a hero in LSU’s win over Alabama two years ago. [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag], and [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag] could all see significant playing time this fall for the Tigers.

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LSU signee Trey’Dez Green finishes as five-star in final On3 rankings

An LSU signee picked up his fifth star this week.

An LSU signee picked up his fifth star this week per On3’s updated rankings.

The recruiting service released its final prospect ratings for the 2024 class, going from 21 five-stars to 32. LSU’s [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag] was one of the beneficiaries, now ranking 32nd overall with five stars.

Green had always been one of the top-ranked tight ends, but a five-star rating was elusive as he hovered around the 35-45 overall range. Now, he has it.

On3 is the only service to give Green five stars, but he is a consensus blue-chip recruit and top 100 across the board.

According to On3’s Charles Powers, “Green will have some growing pains as a blocker, but his ability to move and go up and get the football with his size is rare for the position.

Green continues LSU’s run of success recruiting tight ends. Two years ago, LSU added [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag]. Last year, the Tigers signed [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag] and [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag].

With Taylor, Markway and Pimpton set to return, along with the addition of Green, LSU’s tight end room is prepared to take center stage this fall.

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LSU lands top tight end in 2024 recruiting class according to On3

Trey’Dez Green joins a tight-end room at LSU that has some very talented players.

On3 recently released a list of the top 10 tight ends in the 2024 recruiting class and the schools that they committed to. [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag] was the No. 1 tight end on the list and thankfully, he signed with the LSU Tigers.

Green is a 6-foot-7, 225-pound, four-star tight end who is ranked as the No. 1 tight end in the country by Rivals and by the 247Sports Composite ratings. He is ranked as a top 100 overall player on every recruiting site. He is as high as the No. 36 overall player by On3.

Green joins a tight-end room at LSU that has some very talented players. [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag], and [autotag]Connor Gilbreath[/autotag] are all guys who could see playing time and make a big impact in the passing and running game for the Tigers in 2024.

Adding Green to that squad makes the LSU tight end room one of the best rooms in the NCAA.

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LSU true freshman tight end enters the transfer portal

The Tigers lost one of their 2023 tight end signees on Wednesday.

LSU signed three tight ends in the 2023 class, but with [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] only being a sophomore, some attrition following the season was expected.

We saw that on Wednesday as true freshman tight end [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag] entered the transfer portal. A three-star prospect in the 2023 class from Miamisburg, Ohio, McGohan appeared in eight games during his first season in Baton Rouge.

Most of that action came on special teams, and he didn’t catch a pass.

LSU’s tight end outlook in 2024 still looks good. Taylor is expected to return, as are other 2023 signees [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag] and [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag]. The Tigers also have a commitment from [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag], a Louisiana prospect who ranks as the top tight end in the 2024 class.

McGohan becomes the fifth LSU scholarship player to enter the transfer portal since the conclusion of the regular season.

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Brian Kelly’s discusses Mason Taylor’s hopeful return, progress of young tight ends

With Mason Taylor out last week, LSU had to turn to the rest of its talented but inexperienced tight end room.

When [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] kicked off his post-practice press conference on Thursday night ahead of Saturday’s game against Arkansas, he led off with some good news about tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], who missed last week’s win over Mississippi State.

Taylor, who is listed as probable after suffering an ankle sprain in the win over Grambling, will likely return to the field this week.

In his absence, LSU had to turn to a group of reserve tight ends that, while talented, are young and lack experience. True freshmen [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag] and [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag], along with JUCO transfer [autotag]Connor Gilbreath[/autotag], comprise the team’s depth.

Kelly said that group is making progress, but extended action illuminated several areas where growth is needed.

“Learned that they’re all young, and they’re all learning,” Kelly said. “Look, there’s talent certainly there, but there’s a lot of growth and we enjoy coaching them. Coach Denbrock, [autotag]Terry Malone[/autotag] gets to spend a lot of time with them. But there’s a lot of teaching, a lot of growth, and every day is one step towards getting a little closer to where we need to be with a young group.

“We certainly were in that boat last year with Mason, and we saw great improvement throughout the year, and I suspect that we’ll see the same thing again with this younger group of tight ends we have.”

LSU will likely continue to work its young tight ends in, but with Taylor hopefully returning to the field this weekend, they won’t be relied upon as much moving forward.

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LSU dealing with injuries to pair of key players ahead of SEC opener at Mississippi State

LSU could be without starters Mason Taylor and Omar Speights on Saturday morning.

LSU is looking to earn a big SEC West road win on Saturday against Mississippi State, but it may be undermanned heading into that game.

Two Tigers starters are dealing with injuries leading up to the game and may not be able to play, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said Thursday night.

Tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], who exited Saturday’s win over Grambling with an ankle sprain, is considered day-to-day. Linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag], an accomplished transfer from Oregon State, will travel with the team to Starkville but is doubtful to play less than 48 hours before kick, according to Kelly.

Assuming Speights doesn’t play, LSU will turn to [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag], [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag] and [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] to shore up the inside linebacker group. Kelly said that [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], who began the year playing off the ball but moved back to the edge last week, will remain on the outside.

Taylor, meanwhile, is the only returning player in LSU’s tight end room. He’s a major part of the offense, and without him, the Tigers would have to turn to a largely unproven group that includes JUCO transfer [autotag]Connor Gilbreath[/autotag] and true freshmen [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag] and [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag].

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2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 84 Mac Markway

Mac Markway is a four-star tight end from Saint Louis, Missouri.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

Here, we are going to look at another one of the three talented tight-end prospects Kelly brought in for the 2023 recruiting class. [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag] is a four-star tight-end from Saint Louis, Missouri, who looks to make his name known in Year 1 on the bayou.

Mac Markway Preseason Player Profile

Freshmen tight ends impressing Brian Kelly early in fall camp

Brian Kelly said the Tigers enter the 2023 season with a much deeper tight end room.

For both [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag], tight end play has always been a key part of the offensive plan.

We saw a freshman emerge at the position last fall in [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], but LSU has really built up the depth at the position behind him this offseason.  The Tigers signed a pair of blue-chip tight ends in the 2023 class in [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag] and [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], with the former being a signing day flip from Vanderbilt.

When Kelly spoke to the media on Thursday following the first practice of fall camp, he said that the performance of those young tight ends was already standing out to him.

“You see (KaMorreun) Pimpton out there, he’s a big-body guy. Soft hands was my first glimpse at him out there,” Kelly said. “If you watch tempo he had a hard time getting lined up but that’s on us, we have to figure out how to get him lined up, maybe just put him in one position and go because he certainly has the tools. And that’s kind of what we thought, he’s much bigger. He’s up to about 245 pounds already when he got on to campus he was at I think 222. He’s done a great job taking care of himself and doing the right things in nutrition. He looks good.

“(Mac) Markway’s moving much better. He’s leaned up, much more agile, because he’s a big body guy that can help us. I think we’ve really built the depth there at the tight end position that we needed around (Mason) Taylor.”

Taylor should be in for a big year in 2023, but with a deeper tight end room this time around, the Tigers could look to work in more multiple tight end sets than the did last season, which is the direction many top programs in college football seem to be heading.

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NEW: LSU lands 2023 JUCO tight end Connor Gilbreath

LSU has added a very talented tight end as a late addition to its 2023 recruiting class.

LSU added a very talented tight end to its 2023 recruiting class. [autotag]Connor Gilbreath[/autotag] announced his commitment on Twitter late Saturday night.

LSU’s 2023 recruiting class was ranked fifth in the country by 247Sports prior to this announcement. That class already included three tight ends: [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag], [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag] and [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag].

All three have already enrolled.

Gilbreath brings more of a veteran presence since he has played at the collegiate level for the past two seasons at [autotag]Butte Community College[/autotag] in California.

The Tigers were thin at tight end last season, and [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has done a masterful job on the recruiting trail of filling that need and other needs as well.

LSU will kick off its 2023 season on Sunday, Sept. 3 as the Tigers look to avenge last season’s loss to the Florida State Seminoles.

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4-star 2024 tight end decommits from LSU

Tayvion Galloway had been committed to the Tigers since July 23.

Tight end [autotag]Tayvion Galloway[/autotag] became one of the first players to join LSU’s 2024 recruiting class last summer, and now he’s the first player to leave the class.

The four-star Chillicothe, Ohio, prospect decommitted from the Tigers on Sunday night. The No. 247 player nationally and No. 11 tight end according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Galloway had been committed to LSU since July 23. He announced his decommitment via his Twitter account

“After reconsideration, I have decided to take a step back and de-commit from LSU,” Galloway said in his post. “My recruitment is now open. Please respect my decision and no interviews at this time.”

LSU signed three tight end prospects in the 2023 class in [autotag]Mac Markway[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson McGohan[/autotag] and [autotag]Ka’Morreun Pimpton[/autotag], and it still has a top-100 tight end committed in 2024 in [autotag]Trey’Dez Green[/autotag].

The Tigers also return true sophomore [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], who had a breakout season in 2022.

Even with Galloway’s decommitment, LSU still has 15 commitments in the class of 2024, which ranks seventh nationally per 247Sports.

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