Fall Camp 2023: Mason Taylor
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00:00 during the off season, how much are you up from last year?
00:03 >> I think around 10 pounds, I'm sitting at 255 right now, a little up and down.
00:07 But yeah, I definitely gained about 10 pounds from the last season.
00:11 >> Why was that the focus for you?
00:12 >> Some of it's from an injury, but I also have to sit a little heavier.
00:16 I mean, I played pretty light last year, around 240, 245.
00:20 I wanted to be at 255, so I just gotta get some more muscle and
00:24 cough a little bit.
00:25 >> So at this point, it's a matter of sort of changing the competition?
00:29 >> Yeah, yeah.
00:30 >> How much is the play that's been changed in the year?
00:32 It's drastic.
00:33 >> A lot, yeah, so we've had a lot of guys go out cuz the old guys are transfers.
00:37 But Coach Kelly and Coach Denmark did a great job getting some depth.
00:42 So a lot of, I mean, they're freshmen, they're young, but
00:45 as you could see last year, they could do it.
00:46 I mean, they all have potential and they all have their attributes, so
00:49 it'll be really good this year.
00:50 >> Do you suddenly feel like the only guy in the room,
00:52 with all these freshmen running around tight?
00:54 >> No, not really.
00:54 I mean, we're kind of the same age.
00:56 I'm still 18, so.
00:57 >> [LAUGH] >> Well, I'm 19, I'm 19, actually, but
00:59 most of them are turning 19 soon, so we're kind of all the same age.
01:03 Yeah, we're a little closer than the age of us.
01:05 >> What type of advice have you been given?
01:08 >> Just have your own attributes.
01:11 I mean, there's seven of us in the tight end room.
01:13 Not everyone's gonna play, I mean, but
01:14 Coach Denmark's gonna do a great job of putting people in what they're good at
01:19 doing, if you're a good blocker, you'll be put on third and short.
01:22 So Coach Denmark's gonna do a great job.
01:24 So just staying patient with your process, is basically the main thing.
01:28 >> Coach was talking about Pimpton the other day.
01:31 What do you think of him?
01:33 >> He's good.
01:34 He has a lot of potential, too.
01:35 I mean, he's a big guy, and he's a little slim right now, but he's a freshman, so
01:39 he's gonna put on some good weight, and he's tall.
01:41 So I mean, any ball that's thrown up to him, he could definitely go get, and
01:44 he's shown a lot of potential already in a few practices we've had.
01:47 >> You say that about going up and getting any ball thrown his way.
01:49 It seems like there's something different about his catch radius and
01:51 his ability to snag things out of the air.
01:54 Is that, are we seeing too, have you seen that as well?
01:57 >> Well, I've seen that, yeah, he's long.
01:59 I mean, not just he's tall, his arms are down to his knees, so I mean, he's long.
02:04 So I mean, yeah, his catch radius, he's good hands.
02:06 So yeah, it'll definitely help us this year, too.
02:08 >> Nathan, you, freshman year you all have this season that people are not expecting
02:12 maybe you all win the West and win ten games.
02:15 Now you're in these high preseason rankings, a lot of expectations.
02:19 How does this equate to, so you have a vision, I guess, to come here.
02:23 How does this equate to what you were told or sold on about LSU, and
02:28 how do you feel like it's all coming together?
02:30 >> Yeah, I'd say it's coming together.
02:31 We just gotta be where our feet at and kind of block out the extra noise outside.
02:35 I mean, if we just stick to what we're doing, no matter what rank we are,
02:38 if we win every single game, no matter what rank we are, I mean, we'll make it.
02:43 So we'll just take this day by day and game by game at the end of the day,
02:47 and we'll exceed expectations.