Tight End Kole Taylor Commits!

LSU added the 21st member of the 2020 recruiting class today in three-star tight end Kole Taylor.

Taylor is a 6-6, 225-pound prospect out of Grand Junction, Colo. that visited LSU a couple of times in the past few months, for the spring game and then later on an official. Other suitors included the home-state Buffalos, Penn State, Washington and Missouri.

As much as we talk about quarterbacks and LSU, tight end has probably been the biggest source of frustration for Tiger fans over the years. Although we started to see Foster Moreau reverse the trend a bit. Oversized receiver Stephen Sullivan’s move to more of a flex/slot tight end role in the much-discussed new offense this fall is something of a canary-in-the-coal-mine for some doubters.

But in terms of Taylor, there’s no question he’s a similar kind of prospect. He basically plays a bit of everything for his high school, but mostly he’s a receiver on offense. Just with the frame that can hopefully add some bulk to also take up the blocking reigns in the SEC. He only caught 29 passes for 510 yards as a junior, but that came with eight touchdowns.

His competition doesn’t look like much in those clips, but you can see that he’s clearly a tall, lanky target that’s comfortable going up and getting the ball. How he translates to the college level will be interesting. One thing is for sure — he’s not a Dillon Gordon type that will eventually transition to the offensive line.

With now 21 commitments in this class and the possibility of a 22nd coming soon from superstar local defensive lineman Jaquelin Roy, spots are getting tight in this class and it’s going to be very interesting to see how Ed Orgeron manages the numbers. I’ve said before that I believe you see LSU end up with more verbal commitments than they have room for at some point, and it’s very clear that they have a handful of need prospects still on the board on the defensive and offensive lines and at tailback. But LSU brought in several prospects with a similar profile to Taylor in for visits this offseason — skinnier, oversized receiver types as opposed to the bigger tight ends we’ve been used to. Clearly finding a prospect at this spot is something the staff has prioritized. We’ll see how they manage the remaining openings in this class. It should be very interesting to watch.