USC Trojans Tight End Lake McRee's Fast Recovery Sparks Offense: X-Factor?

USC Trojans redshirt junior Lake McRee played a crucial role in USC's win over LSU on Sunday, hauling in a career-high five receptions for 56 yards. Is he the Trojans x-factor?

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans tight end Lake McRee (87) against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It was uncertain whether or not USC Trojans tight end Lake McRee would be available for the start of the 2024 college football season after he suffered a torn ACL last December as the Trojans were preparing for their Holiday Bowl matchup with Louisville. 

Remarkably, McRee was cleared before the start of fall football camp in July and was a full participant in practices, six months removed from having surgery on his devastating knee injury. 

The redshirt junior played a crucial role for USC’s offense in their 27-20 last-second win over LSU on Sunday, hauling in a career-high five receptions for 56 yards. His five catches were tied for the team lead with redshirt junior receiver Kyron Hudson and the most by a USC tight end since 2019. 

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) celebrates with tight end Lake McRee (87) after scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run with eight seconds left against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

McRee’s second catch of the game, a 17-yard gain to the start the second quarter helped spark the Trojans first scoring drive of the season that ended with a Woody Marks 2-yard touchdown run. A run where McRee buried a defender halfway into the end zone. 

In addition to his impact in the pass game, McRee posted an 82.8 run block grade vs LSU, per PFF. That ranked third amongst all tight ends in college football. 

The Austin, TX native reflected on his comeback after the game. 

“It was pretty surreal to be able to come back, you know, start of fall camp six months off ACL ... can’t give enough credit to the trainers and everyone that’s helped me get to this point,” McRee said. “You know they worked with me a lot, through this process. It was really fun to go out there with my brothers. It was an awesome team win and just couldn’t be happy.”

McRee has seen an increase in receptions and receiving yards in each of his previous three seasons.

So, could McRee be the X-factor in USC’s offense in 2024? 

USC quarterback Miller Moss and McRee arrived on campus at the same time as part of the Trojans 2021 recruiting class. Their chemistry was evident early in the game when the two connected on each of the Trojans first two drives on plays that resulted in first downs. 

Moss plays a different style than former USC quarterback Caleb Williams has the previous two season. On Sunday, Moss averaged 2.35 seconds to get rid of the football, almost a full second faster than Williams’ average in 2023.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws a pass against the LSU Tigers during the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

In an offense that could rely more on getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quicker this season, McRee has the potential to carve out a big role this season. The Trojans have very little depth behind McRee with redshirt freshman Kade Eldridge, who appeared in just one game in 2023 and true freshman Joey Olsen, so they will depend heavily on McRee to receive production from the tight end position.

USC returns to action on Saturday, September 7th at 8 p.m. PT for their home opener at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Utah State Aggies.

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