4-star St. Louis tight end Mac Markway commits to LSU

Brian Kelly couldn’t quite seal the deal on St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet tight end Mac Markway the first time around. But given a second chance, the first-year LSU head coach, who previously recruited Markway at Notre Dame, secured his commitment this time around.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound pass-catcher announced for the Tigers on Thursday afternoon, choosing LSU over Iowa, Ohio State, USC, Florida, and more than two dozen others.

Markway had previously committed to Florida under former head coach Dan Mullen, but reopened his recruitment in December following Mullen’s firing and Napier’s hiring. Kelly and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock quickly made him a priority early on, and it paid dividends.

Markway is the No. 117 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 9 tight end and the No. 4 junior prospect in Missouri.

Strong connections key for Mac Markway

The connections to the Tigers program were strengthened even further after Kelly’s hiring, as he brought Markway’s high school coach, Robert Steeples, on as a defensive assistant after a season coaching for the Minnesota Vikings. Shortly thereafter, Missouri defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, a former player of Steeples’ and teammate of Markway, transferred to LSU.

After his visit two weekends ago, Markway had nothing but good things to say about those connections to TheBengalTiger’s Billy Embody.

“It was great to coach Steep again. Also to see my old teammate Mekhi Wingo,” he said. “I just asks how he liked it and he (Wingo) just said that he loves it. We were honestly just catching up on things. We are like family him and I. He (Steeples) taught me a lot and pushed me hard.”

Markway is the Tigers’ second commit in the 2023 class, joining four-star wideout Omarion Miller.