Position Breakdown-Tight Ends

[Fishhead]

Last season, I would have lumped this group in with the receivers or the OL. There was nothing to really discuss. 
But this season, they definitely warrant their own thread. 
Let's get to it!

Mason Taylor returns fresh off a really solid freshman season.  Remember when I was complaining because he wasn't being productive and my former man crush, Jack Bech, wasn't being utilized?  Yeah, I don't recall that either.  

Taylor is of course most remembered due to his HUGE game winning catch on the 2 pt conversion that beat Gumps, but if you go back and review, it's easy to see he got better and better as the year progressed, and he became a true weapon.  
So he's back.  But he has company now...

I'd love for someone to tell me a head coach with a better record recruiting and developing tight ends besides Brian Kelly.  He's the tight end guru.  He just came to LSU with a truly bare cupboard.  And now he's filled it...

Ka'Morreun Pimpton comes to LSU at 6'6" 242 lbs with tremendous strength and athleticism.  Consider in HS he was district champ in shot put and #2 in discus, and you realize the strength that requires.  His catch radius is other worldly, though.  NOT some 6th offensive lineman type TE.  The aforementioned TE guru Brian Kelly says he's never seen a TE with this combination of measureables and ability.  You have to believe with his size and the ever hyped "catch radius", he's set to be a red zone monster.

Mac Markway was actually higher ranked out of HS than Pimpton.  He's a true TE, blocks and catches, and measures 6'4" 250 lbs.  Was the #3 ranked TE in the country out of HS, and that's including the fact he was out with an injury his SR season.
His father, Matt Markway, was a standout TE at Iowa.  He was HS teammates with LSU DL Mekhi Wingo.

Jackson McGohan is a pass catcher, tallying 52 receptions for 941 yds and 11 TDs as a TIGHT END his SR season of HS.  Highly productive and highly decorated Ohio product headed to the bayou.

Connor Gilbreath is a JUCO transfer coming in at 6'5" 272 lbs.  THIS is your 6th OL.  He has stated he is here to "block people".  He makes no bones about it.  

I think Taylor will be the guy we see most often, especially early on.  But I'm not sure a couple of these freshmen can be kept off the field.  Pimpton is going to turn some heads when he gets it all put together.  I truly wish he could've been here for spring, but he was busy dominating in shot put and discus at HS.  And Connor Gilbreath is going to be a contributor early on in the running game, especially short yardage packages.

Not sure I've ever been actually "excited" to see what happens with a tight end group, but I am now!

 

 

 

 

[Hatchertiger]

18 hours ago, Fishhead said:

 Taylor is of course most remembered due to his HUGE game winning catch on the 2 pt conversion that beat Gumps,  

He also caught a TD pass in that game.

[LSUDad]

The TE position full force! 
 

https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/2023/5/20/23725870/the-divergence-of-the-te-position-and-the-12olution

[houtiger]

5 hours ago, Hatchertiger said:

He also caught a TD pass in that game.

That was an outstanding catch IMO.  Two defenders on him, one in tight on his back.  Trying to not step on the back line of the end zone.  The ball came in way over his head, it was not traveling horizontally as much as vertically coming down.  It was harder to catch coming down like that.  It was a great throw, and a great catch.  It was a much tougher catch than the easy one he caught for the two point conversion.  Mason Taylor can definitely CATCH the ball.

[LSUDad]

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

We saw a freshman emerge at the position last fall in Mason Taylor, 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 Ka'Morreun Pimpton and Mac Markway, 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.