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USC redshirt junior tight end Lake McRee grew up in Austin, Texas where he attended Lake Travis High School. A complete coincidence regarding Lake's name but nonetheless, very fitting.

"I loved growing up in Austin," said McRee. "I grew up with the same people and played football with the same people through Little League all the way through high school."

The 6-foot-4-inch McRee was always able to use his size in all of his sports, whether on the football field or on the basketball court. As an all-around athlete, McRee had a variety of paths to choose from when it came to his future athletic endeavors. It wasn't until he got college attention for his talent as a football player that he decided which sport to set his focus on moving into high school.

McRee was trained to play quarterback, which was ideal as Lake Travis is highly regarded as one of the top D1 quarterback producing schools in the country. However, his coaches advised him to test his athleticism and size at a variety of other positions to maximize his playing time. Ultimately, tight end was the right fit.

"I think I was a defensive end for one day," laughed McRee. "Then I tried tight end…I felt weird being in a different type of stance, but I think playing quarterback helped me a little bit knowing what the QB wanted to see and where I wanted to be on the field."

The move to tight end paid dividends as it resulted in a variety of scholarship offers, with McRee choosing to become a Trojan. So far in his 3-year USC career, he has collected 43 receptions and three touchdowns while appearing in 29 games with seven starts.

"It's a scrappy position; you kind of have to have a little chip on your shoulder to play it," said McRee. "I think it's probably the most fun position in football because you get to do everything from catching touchdowns to blocking big dudes. And in Coach Riley's offense, he implements a bunch of fun stuff for the tight ends."

Through the coaching provided at USC, McRee has continued to develop his craft and improve as a well-rounded tight end.

"I think the development that the coaches have had on me over the past three years has been great for my game," said McRee. "They brought in Coach Hanson [USC's tight end's coach] who has a lot of blocking experience, and I think that's what my game needed the most."

His perspective and experience have grown immensely allowing him to be a respected role model for the younger team members during 2024 fall camp.

"I think this is probably the least anxious I've been going into a fall camp because I know what to expect," said McRee. "It's been a different role for me to be a leader and show the younger guys in my position room and on the offensive side of the ball what fall camp is like, and I think it went well."

McRee is not only a brother on the field, but he is also a brother in real life. Just three years younger, Heath McRee has also pursued a college football career in California and is a freshman wide receiver at San Diego State.

"I talk to him as much as I can," said McRee. "He's going through fall camp right now, and freshman year fall camp is always really tough. But it's cool to have another family member on the west coast while being pretty far away from home."

McRee will be an excellent sounding board for his younger brother as he is no stranger to the hardships of college football. A few days before the 2023 Holiday Bowl, McRee tore his right ACL.

"You don't realize how much you like something until it's gone or until you get hurt and you're watching from the sidelines," said McRee.

While this injury was a devastating blow, McRee was hungry to immediately begin his healing journey and was focused on his return to the field. This unfortunately was not a foreign experience for the Trojan as he tore his left ACL his sophomore year of high school, so he knew what to expect in the rehab process. Fellow teammate, safety Zion Branch, who also tore his ACL in the 2023 season, was an integral part of his support system.

"We had the same injury in different time periods, but we would do our rehab together. He was a huge part in my rehab and pushed me every day," said McRee. "I think he's a big reason why I was able to be out there for camp this summer."

After an offseason of rehab and intense fall camp, USC is ready to face LSU on Sept. 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for its first game of the 2024 season. While a gauntlet of Big Ten games awaits afterwards, for McRee, that is the only game he is focused on.

"I just need to take it one game at a time, one play at a time, one series at a time, and not look ahead."

Players Mentioned

Zion Branch

Lake McRee

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