Q&A: Mason Taylor talks practice fight, new-look tight end room

The year 2022 was a whirlwind for freshman tight end Mason Taylor. From a three-star recruit out of Florida to making the biggest play of the season for LSU to beat Alabama and earning national recognition, Taylor solidified himself as a name to know for years to come in Baton Rouge. Selected to the second-team All-SEC Preseason team, Taylor enters his sophomore campaign looking to expand on his role from last year, but also understands this is a very different team than that of 2022.

With an overhaul at his position unit, a better understanding of the offense, and new expectations, Taylor met with the media on Monday to discuss his perspective on this season, here’s what he said.

On being ranked in the top five

“It’s different, but at the end of the day we just have to stick to the fundamentals and what we’re taught. People can take that two ways, either get big-headed or stay humble about it, and we’re going to stay humble about it and play every game the same.”

On his weight

“I’m sitting at 255 right now. Some of its from the injury, but I played pretty light last year at 242, so I wanted to add more muscle and cut the fat a bit… I have to work on everything, but one thing specific is my blocking.”

On the tight end room

“We’re all about the same age, I’m 19 and most of them are about to turn 19, so [I don’t feel old]. I [tell them] just to have their own attributes. There’s seven of us and not everyone is going to play, but coach Denbrock is going to put everyone in for what they’re good at doing. If you’re a good blocker, you’ll get in on third and shorts and stuff. It’s just about staying disciplined in your process… I think coach Denbrock is trying to scheme more mismatches for the tight ends because we have more depth this year.”

On Ka’Morreun Pimpton

“He’s good. He’s a big guy. He’s kinda slim right now, but he’s a freshman, so he’s going to put on some good weight and he’s tall so any ball that’s thrown to him, he’s going to go up and go get. He’s not just tall, but his arms are down to his knees. He’ll definitely help us this year.”

On the practice scrum

“It’s just high emotions. Everyone’s excited to be out there. We got new guys coming from being hurt so they’re just excited to be out there. They’re men, so they’re just scuffling around, talking crap, and whatever. It’s not a big deal. We’ll be fine. This is not often with coach Kelly. We just have to start respecting our brothers and our teammates. When emotions get high, we have to control them.”

On QBs improvement

“Nuss got actually very fast this summer, I think he ran 21 miles per hour. Then Jayden’s throwing ability [got better]. He’s stepping up in the pocket and he’s more comfortable within the offense and delivering balls all over the place.”

“It’s definitely different. Everyone is more experienced. The offense was new last year and people were iffy about the playbook. Everyone knows what they’re doing this year and they’re helping each other out. Our whole team is just more experienced.”

On Jayden Daniels

“Throughout the season, just week after week he kept showing [his talent]. People can say he wasn’t throwing for that many yards, but we’re out there winning game after game. We’re beating Alabama and beating these really good teams no matter if he’s throwing for 400 or 100 yards. He’s getting our offense on the same page and on track to win the game.”