Brett Davis-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Not every transfer portal addition garners significant headlines.
Sometimes it’s about creating depth and filling out the roster. Lane Kiffin and general manager Billy Glasscock know that fortifying different position groups is important and creating a variety of skills at those positions helps the team.
Enter Pittsburgh tight end transfer Malachi Thomas.
WHAT WE KNOW
Thomas committed to LSU on Sunday after two seasons in Steel City. He was a special teams player as a freshman in 2024 and played a more significant role in 2025 with 13 catches in 13 games for 192 yards and a pair of scores.
He’s 6-foot-4 and about 230 lbs. Exiting high school, he was a three-star recruit with minimal power five offers.
He’s got two seasons of eligibility remaining. That’s been a theme with multiple LSU additions early on. Some have two or three seasons left to play.
THE FIT
Tight end might be the healthiest spot on LSU roster. Safety probably gets the nod there, but it’s close. Trey’Dez Green returns with All-American potential. JD LaFluer is also back, and he fits the mold of the physical tight end with his 6-foot-7, 255 lbs., frame.
JC Anderson comes in in the offseason as a freshman that Kiffin and tight ends coach Joe Cox identified when they were at Ole Miss. He did a ton of damage at the high school level split out wide as opposed to with his hand on the ground next to the tackle.
So, Thomas adds veteran depth with some size. He’s not being brought to LSU purely to block, but he’s probably more capable than Green in that department.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
I think Thomas immediately competes with LaFluer for reps next to Green. I don’t say behind because Green is a different animal on the field. He’s a wide receiver in tight end clothing.
LaFluer is the bigger player. Thomas is probably the more agile pass catching threat. Anderson slots in behind both as the fourth option when he arrives. Thomas plays the role Donovan Green occupied in 2025. He just does it in an offense that figures to move the ball much more effectively.
The second option at tight end is rarely going to be a game changing player or one that garners a lot of discussion, but Green will only be at LSU for one more season in all likelihood. That, theoretically, gives LSU a 2027 tight end group of Thomas (senior), LaFluer (third-year sophomore) and Anderson (second year) which is a really good place to be.
Not all portal adds are stars, and Thomas may not be that, but depth is brutally hard to build in this era, and Thomas does that at a spot that is now as healthy as any on the roster.
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