On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine: LSU makes move for Mac Markway

For the longest time it appeared On3 Consensus four-star tight end Mac Markway was going to play in the SEC for the Florida Gators. But the coaching change in Gainesville caused him to open things back up and reexamine his favorites.

Yet, it appears the star tight end from St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet Jesuit might just end up in the SEC after all.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the LSU Tigers have taken a commanding lead in Mac Markway’s recruitment.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine says LSU now has a 62% chance of landing Markway. Iowa is listed second at 14.1%, followed by Miami at 13.3% and Ohio State at 8.4%, according to the On3 RPM.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college.

It factors in machine learning, expert predictions, social sentiment, visits, and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

Mac Markway: ‘LSU has plans for TEs’

Mac Markway is coming off an impressive unofficial visit to LSU on March 11. After the visit, he told Billy Embody of On3’s The Bengal Tiger the LSU coaches talked with him at length about how he could fit into their system.

“The visit went great,” Markway told The Bengal Tiger. “I loved how they plan to use the tight ends there and especially how they will use me. They compared me to Michael Mayer because of my versatility at my position.”

Markway also told Embody that offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and head coach Brian Kelly impressed on the visit with their plan for him and the program.

“We talked about what their goal is and how they are going to achieve it,” Markway said. “(Kelly) was also first class. We talked about everything that he wants to do with the program and how they will use me. The tight end will definitely be the heart and soul of that team.”

After the visit, Markway said LSU sits “high on my list for sure,” while Iowa, Miami and Ohio State are also near the top of his list. All of that is clearly reflected by the current status in the On3 RPM.

According to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Mac Markway ranks as the No. 117 overall prospect in the country, No. 9 tight end and fourth-best prospect in Missouri.

Mac Markway currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $15,400. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time. Markway ranks No. 756 in the High School Football NIL Rankings.