LSU Football: Veteran OL thinks the Tigers have a breakout star on offense

LSU Football has the talent and depth at most positions to compete for the SEC West division title in 2021.

There’s one specific position, however, where depth is a bit of a concern.

The Tigers don’t have a ton of depth at tight end.

Former five-star recruit Arik Gilbert left the program this past winter (he transferred to Georgia, but he’s currently away from the team). True freshman Jalen Shead, who was expected to seeing playing time in 2021, left the team before the start of fall camp.

That leaves LSU with questionable depth.

Sophomore Kole Taylor will be the Tigers’ starting tight end. True freshman Jack Bech, a hybrid tight end/wide receiver, will be one of Taylor’s primary backups, along with fifth-year senior Aaron Moffitt and redshirt sophomore Nick Storz.

Taylor caught six passes for 36 yards last season. That accounts for all of LSU’s returning production at the tight end position.

You can see why tight end is a bit of a concern for Ed Orgeron’s squad.

But there’s some good news. Taylor, who is playing bigger this season, could be in line for a breakout season.

At least that’s what fifth-year senior offensive lineman Austin Deculus believes.

Austin Deculus think LSU Football tight end Kole Taylor will have a big season

Deculus spoke to reporters this week and he had plenty of great things to say about Taylor.

The veteran offensive lineman thinks Taylor will surprise a lot of folks by the end of the season. Deculus also thinks Taylor could end up being one of the top tight ends “on a lot of boards”.

Here are the full comments from Deculus on Taylor (via 247Sports):

"“Kole Taylor is going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people this season. A lot of people don’t think that Kole Taylor is going to be the player he is going to be by the end of this season. He’s going to be opening a lot of eyes and is going to have his name on a lot of boards, the top tight end possibly.Coming out of high school, he was more of that lanky body type. But now he got in that weight room and ate this good Louisiana food that helped him gain a little bit of pounds here and there, all good weight as well.”"

Deculus also noted that Taylor isn’t just a pass-catching tight end — he’s an effective blocker, too.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Jake Peetz utilizes Taylor this season.

The Tigers are expected to use tight ends more in the passing game this season. If that’s the case, then Deculus could end up being spot-on about his Kole Taylor prediction.